SARASOTA, Fla. -- Is Chris Bassitt a No. 1 or No. 2 starting pitcher for a rotation at this point in his MLB career? Likely not. But will he make Baltimore’s pitching staff better? Without a doubt.
Though Bassitt may not be the exact type of frontline starter the Orioles could have potentially landed this offseason, the soon-to-be 37-year-old right-hander -- who agreed to a one-year deal worth $18.5 million on Wednesday night, according to a source -- is a reliable, durable veteran arm. He’s consistently solid, and he can be counted on to eat innings.
However, the arrival of Bassitt will further crowd the O’s rotation landscape. It appears they’ll have six starting pitchers as the candidates for five spots.
Unless ...
“We want to make sure that we’re putting our players in the best chance to succeed, and a six-man rotation might be an option, a regular five-man. It all depends,” manager Craig Albernaz said Thursday morning prior to his team’s second workout of Spring Training. “For us, we’re talking through everything, as well we should. We just want to be prepared. ...
“I think I’d consider anything. I think all options are on the table. That’s the beauty of Spring Training and kind of our front office and coaching dynamic, that relationship, where we’re probably going to explore everything.”
Perhaps it wouldn’t make sense for the Orioles to open the year with a six-man rotation, at least not in its traditional form. There are three off-days within the first 15 days of the season, so pitchers could get too much time in between starts.
But Baltimore may get creative, especially as it tries to avoid a repeat of 2025, when 29 players spent time on the injured list. Early in the season, the rotation was missing key pieces (Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez and Tyler Wells), which contributed to the team’s slow start featuring a 21-36 record across March, April and May.
As the Orioles try to better keep their rotation intact, a lot of pitchers could benefit from a six-man rotation (or at least some extra rest here and there):
Bradish: Baltimore’s current top starter has pitched only 71 1/3 big league innings over the past two seasons because he underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2024. The O’s may not want the 29-year-old right-hander to throw as many innings as he did in ‘23 (168 2/3) quite yet.
“He’s in a terrific spot, physically, and he’s looking great. We have not had any discussions about an artificial innings limit,” president of baseball operations Mike Elias said. “We’re going to just work with him and take it as it comes. I think he’s in the mindset of going out and pitching as much as he possibly can. But certainly, we know there’s a lot of innings to cover this year.”
Zach Eflin: The 31-year-old righty underwent back surgery last August. But he’s recovered well, and when he re-signed with the Orioles in late December, he expressed a belief that he’ll be ready in time for Opening Day. Elias stated a similar sentiment recently.
“You wouldn’t know him from any of the other pitchers right now,” Elias said. “We’re just going to kind of take it as it comes and not force anything this spring. But he’s off to a great start.”
Dean Kremer: Although the 30-year-old right-hander has logged at least 171 2/3 innings in two of the past three seasons, he’s traditionally gotten off to slow starts, as he has a 6.24 ERA in 22 career March/April starts and a 3.88 ERA in 104 outings occurring from May-October.
Maybe easing Kremer in and allowing him to work out any early-season struggles would be beneficial, especially with the rotation mix a bit crowded.
Shane Baz: The 26-year-old right-hander pitched a career-high 166 1/3 innings last year, but he had never pitched more than 79 1/3 in an MLB season due to past injury issues. The Orioles want to keep him healthy for not only this season, but the two additional years on his contract.
There may not necessarily be any specific reasons to give left-hander Trevor Rogers or Bassitt extra rest early in the season, other than the O’s want to get this group deep into the season without losing any key pieces. And that could be one way to help make it happen.
Either way, Baltimore will have decisions to make -- unless this rotation uncertainty sorts itself out by one of these starters getting hurt, or if Eflin ends up opening the year on the IL.
That’s why it’s important to have depth, and it's also why it was important to sign Bassitt.