SARASOTA, Fla. -- The final day of Orioles Spring Training brought a surprising cut from camp.
In an unexpected move, Baltimore optioned right-hander Dean Kremer to Minor League camp on Saturday afternoon, meaning the 30-year-old will not be on the club’s Opening Day roster. Kremer has been a staple of the O’s rotation for much of the past six seasons, recording a 4.26 ERA over 671 2/3 innings in 126 games (123 starts) over that span.
Kremer is coming off a 2025 season in which he led the Orioles in wins (11) and innings (171 2/3). He had a 5.00 ERA in three Grapefruit League starts, allowing five earned runs in nine innings.
With Kremer likely heading to Triple-A Norfolk, Baltimore’s rotation should look like this:
1. LHP Trevor Rogers
2. RHP Kyle Bradish
3. RHP Shane Baz
4. RHP Chris Bassitt
5. RHP Zach Eflin
There had been uncertainty whether Eflin would be built up in time for the start of the season, as he got into games later than the rest of the starters after undergoing back surgery last August. But the 31-year-old right-hander quelled those concerns on Friday night, when he struck out seven and gave up only one hit in 5 1/3 scoreless innings vs. a stacked Yankees lineup.
The Orioles’ starting-pitching depth is much improved from last season. That’s evident by the fact that Kremer, left-hander Cade Povich and righty Brandon Young -- a trio that combined to make 61 starts for the club last season -- were all optioned this spring.
It would have been challenging for Baltimore to open the season with a six-man rotation because the team has three off-days between March 26-April 9, meaning it will have played only 12 games in the first 15 days of the season entering April 10. That means there would have been long layoffs for starters in between outings.
Bradish, Baz and Kremer were the only O’s rotation candidates with Minor League options remaining, but those first two are expected to lead the top half of the staff alongside Rogers. That resulted in Kremer getting optioned for the first time since Sept. 12, 2021.
Kremer has often gotten off to slow starts in previous seasons. Here’s his ERA by month during his six-year MLB career:
March/April: 6.24 ERA (109 2/3 IP)
May: 3.62 ERA (104 1/3 IP)
June: 4.16 ERA (101 2/3 IP)
July: 4.57 ERA (106 1/3 IP)
Aug.: 3.84 ERA (122 IP)
Sept./Oct.: 3.31 ERA (127 2/3 IP)
It was even more pronounced last year, when Kremer had a 7.04 ERA across six March/April starts and a 3.57 ERA over his final 25 outings.
Perhaps this move will allow Kremer to work through his typical early season issues in the Minors before eventually returning to the Orioles’ staff. The earliest he can be recalled is April 9, unless he’s part of a corresponding move for a pitcher going on the injured list.