MINNEAPOLIS -- The Orioles boarded a quick flight to Chicago on Sunday night and waved good riddance to the Twins.
After dropping a 4-1 decision at Target Field, the Orioles can take solace in the fact they are done with Minnesota, which has won 12 straight against Baltimore dating to the opening series of 2018. Dylan Bundy suffered his fourth loss, and winning pitcher Kyle Gibson held the offense to little besides Chris Davis’ solo homer as the Orioles were swept in the six-game season series.
"We’ve had a rough time [against them], there is no doubt,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “They beat us. They’re playing good baseball. It’s a veteran club with high expectations. And they should; that’s a really good club."
Here are a few things we learned about the Orioles in the past week, when the club went 2-4.
There will be turnover
Given the state of their rebuild, the Orioles’ roster was always going to be fluid. But it’s notable how much already has changed, a month into 2019.
The Orioles made a dizzying 17 transactions in the past week, including parting ways with right-hander Mike Wright and catcher Jesús Sucre and optioning Opening Day center fielder Cedric Mullins. All played key parts of the Orioles’ first win of the year in New York. A month later, all are off the roster or in the Minor Leagues.
Including injuries, nearly a third (32 percent) of the club’s Opening Day roster has turned over a month into 2019. The Orioles have used 35 players. Plus there’s Luis Ortiz, who was recalled but did not appear in a game, and Shawn Armstrong, who was claimed off waivers Sunday.
“You’ll probably see a lot more going forward,” Hyde said.
Things can change quickly
The transitory nature of the roster means role is often subject to change, as well. Just ask David Hess, who went from the rotation to bullpen and then back to the rotation in a span of 48 hours over the weekend. Or John Means, who went from roster long shot to long reliever to indispensable rotation piece in a month’s time. Or Stevie Wilkerson, whose first professional game in center field came this week. He now constitutes much of the Orioles’ depth at the position.
The juggling likely will continue in the bullpen, which is rife with opportunity but shorter on pitchers who have seized those opportunities. Of the 19 relievers used this season – excluding position players who have taken the mound -- just four enjoy an ERA below 4.00. One is injured (Nate Karns), another is now in the rotation (Means). The others are Evan Phillips and Gabriel Ynoa, who entered the mix in the past week.
“Sometimes, I’m leaving guys in longer than I want to, because we’re just trying to get through it,” Hyde said. “That’s just the way our roster is right now. I’d love to see some guys step up, see some starters go a little deeper, and not have so much shuffling going on.”
Nunez might be for real
Time will tell, but it has been a productive first month for Renato Núñez, who has settled in as the Orioles’ everyday DH and regular cleanup hitter. Nunez cooled a bit in the chilly Minnesota weather over the weekend, but he homered five times the week prior and has seen his OPS jump nearly 150 points since the middle of the month.
All told, Nunez is hitting .276 with a .822 OPS. Statistically, he has been Baltimore’s most productive hitter behind Trey Mancini, whose breakout campaign has him among the league leaders in a host of major offensive categories.