ORIOLES PITCHING SAVIORS! Three Emerging Ace Step Up to Replace Injured Stars

Spring training has not been kind to the Baltimore Orioles on the injury front.

They have lost several key members of their pitching staff to injuries that are going to keep them on the sidelines once Opening Day rolls around.

Their staff ace, Grayson Rodriguez, is dealing with an issue to his triceps/back of the elbow. Relief pitcher Andrew Kittredge, who signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the team in free agency, underwent surgery on his left knee and will be sidelined for a few months.

Both were going to be prominent members of the pitching staff; Rodriguez was viewed by many as the ace of the starting rotation and Kittredge was going to operate in late-inning situations along with the recovering Felix Bautista.

As a result of those injuries, there are now two spots up for grabs on the Opening Day roster.

That is the biggest remaining positional battle the Orioles have to figure out this spring in the opinion of Jake Rill of MLB.com.

Right now, there are two players vying for Rodriguez’s spot in the rotation; veteran Albert Suarez and former top prospect Cade Povich.

The latter is making a very strong case with a dominant spring.

Has made two appearances, throwing 5.0 shutout innings with seven strikeouts, allowing only a single hit and walk.

Suarez has not been as productive this spring, allowing eight earned runs on 13 hits and five walks with only three strikeouts.

While the numbers don’t count, those are concerning statistics for someone in a tight race for a spot in the rotation, especially coming off his pleasantly productive 2024 when he recorded a 3.70 ERA across 133.2 innings in his first big league action since 2017.

How things shake out in the starting rotation is going to have a direct impact on who will take Kittredge’s spot in the bullpen.

If Povich beats out Suarez for the fifth spot, the veteran can be shifted into being a reliever, which he was down the stretch of 2024 and was the role he was expected to have this year.

But, there is another player to keep an eye on who is making a push for that spot; righty Bryan Baker.

Ultimately, Rill believes all three are going to end up on the Opening Day roster with how things are currently trending.

“It wouldn’t be surprising if Suárez, Povich and Baker all end up on the 26-man roster, but they’ll need to hold off the competition over the next two weeks,” he wrote.

Pitching was a bit of a concern for Baltimore heading into spring training, and these injuries are only going to heighten the concern in some people’s eyes.

Don’t be surprised if the Orioles are mentioned in trade rumors again in the near future as the loss of Rodriguez could be what finally pushes the front office to include some of their young hitters in a trade package for a legitimate ace.