ORIOLES ROTATION REVELATION: Promising Young Pitcher Wins Final Spot
The Baltimore Orioles have determined a winner in the battle for the No. 5 spot in the team’s starting rotation.
General manager Mike Elias told MLB.com beat reporter Jake Rill on Sunday that Cade Povich has emerged from spring training with the role after stringing together several impressive performances in February and March.
Povich, a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher from Reno, Nev., threw 14.2 innings of 3.07 ERA ball this spring while striking out 15 opposing hitters. Impressively, he surrendered a WHIP of just 0.89 in doing so.
Povich surpassed rookie limits in 2024, when he made 16 starts for the Orioles in his debut season. The six-foot-three righty went 3-9 with a 5.20 ERA in 16 starts, but the development he has showcased throughout spring training provides reason to believe he will improve upon those marks in 2025.
Povich joins Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Dean Kremer in the five-man unit to start the season, but the group will see plenty of change throughout the year.
The team’s projected ace, Grayson Rodriguez, will return from injury before too long, and Baltimore also signed veteran Kyle Gibson to a one-year contract on Friday.
Kyle Bradish is expected to return from Tommy John surgery in the latter half of the season, as well.
Povich earned the spot that opened up with Rodriguez’s injury, and he beat out 35-year-old Albert Suárez for the gig after the veteran struggled mightily throughout the spring while posting a 7.89 ERA.
Povich will make his first start of the season on March 31 against the Boston Red Sox.
