BALTIMORE -- The Orioles came into Tuesday cautiously optimistic about John Means' potential impact. The 30-year-old left-hander hadn’t pitched in a big league game since April 13, 2022. Over 17 months, he recovered from Tommy John surgery and an upper-back injury he sustained during that process.
Means had never previously pitched in a meaningful game in September. Baltimore was nowhere close to being a postseason contender when he thrived from 2019-21.
“This isn’t the middle of June on a Tuesday night somewhere,” manager Brandon Hydesaid ahead of Means’ return outing.
Instead, it was a Tuesday night in mid-September with the American League-best Orioles inching closer to securing their first postseason berth since 2016. But Means still delivered an encouraging start that proved he could be a factor come October.
Means allowed three runs on five hits (including two solo home runs) across five innings of a 5-2 loss to the Cardinals. He threw 75 pitches (55 strikes) and retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced. He pounded the zone with both his fastball and changeup in typical Means fashion.
It was about as good of an outing as the Orioles could have hoped.
“To go five innings, 75 pitches, only making a couple mistakes throughout, holding his fastball velocity, it was pretty close to where our target was for him on his first time out,” Hyde said.
The looming question is: How will Means fit into the postseason plans?
If Baltimore sticks with its six-man rotation for the rest of the regular season -- which general manager Mike Elias indicated was a possibility on Monday -- then Means would make only three more starts, assuming that each starter stays on turn. That’s not a lot of time for him to continue to build up and to get reacclimated to pitching in the big leagues on a regular routine.
That’s not the typical way pitchers get eased back into action after the ulnar collateral ligament in their elbow is reconstructed, either.
“It’s probably not the norm for a guy to come back from Tommy John surgery and be dropped off into a pennant race in mid-September the way he’s being asked to do,” Elias said. “But that’s where we’re at. I know he’s excited about it.
“I think, for us, a big part of the strategy with the pitching here the last month or so, down the stretch, is having the depth in the numbers to withstand whatever events are going to come our way ... and getting John back is a big part of that.”
Grayson Rodriguez (2.95 ERA in 10 starts in his second MLB stint) is a near lock to do so. Kyle Gibson and Dean Kremer are both probable postseason starters, given their reliable presence in Baltimore’s rotation this year. There’s also Jack Flaherty, who has struggled since getting traded to the O’s (7.16 ERA in six starts) but could still close out the season strong.
Teams can get creative in how they develop pitching plans for the postseason. Only three or four traditional starters may be needed. Others could shift to bullpen roles. Pitchers could form tandems and appear in shorter stints to better navigate a mid-October game.
So anything could happen in terms of how the Orioles use their pitching staff next month. But Means may be one of their best options -- if he pitches like he has in the past, and if he builds upon his first outing of 2023.
“It’s all hands on deck from a pitching perspective,” Elias said.
Means is hopeful his left hand is among those gripping the baseballs in the postseason for the first time.
“It’d be unbelievable,” Means said. “I’m just trying to get in and plug myself in wherever they need me and, hopefully, to provide some help for whatever they need.”