In buying veteran right-hander Jack Flaherty from the St. Louis Cardinals and shifting to a six-man rotation, the Orioles hoped to guard a group of younger starters from fatigue. Instead, Flaherty turned the primary member of that group to cope with that concern.
The Orioles scratched Flaherty from Wednesday evening’s begin in opposition to the Toronto Blue Jays, with right-hander Dean Kremer shifting up a day and Baltimore but to announce a starter for Thursday’s sequence finale or its upcoming sequence with the Colorado Rockies.
Flaherty repeatedly cited an incapacity to “bounce back” from his earlier begin — a three-inning, seven-run dud Aug. 15 in opposition to the San Diego Padres — whereas Hyde mentioned Flaherty is coping with “general soreness,” the kind that’s typical for starters between outings however seemingly hasn’t light over the previous week in Flaherty’s case.
“Sometimes, you don’t bounce back the way you want to,” Flaherty mentioned Wednesday with out elaborating a lot additional. “Throwing [Tuesday], just didn’t quite feel like I bounced back, and sometimes, those are the hard decisions to make especially when you want to take the ball every time out. Just one of those things.”
Hyde mentioned the Orioles determined earlier than Tuesday evening’s recreation, a 6-3 loss to Toronto, that Flaherty wouldn’t begin Wednesday however needed to verify Kremer’s schedule wasn’t disrupted earlier than saying the change. Flaherty’s 123 2/3 innings between Baltimore and St. Louis are his most since 2019 and greater than he threw within the majors throughout 2021 and 2022 mixed.
“This is what’s going to happen,” Hyde mentioned. “It’s late August. We have a lot of guys in there that are beat up and played a lot of baseball so far. These are things we’re just going to have to roll with and make adjustments, and next guy steps up.”
Baltimore acquired Flaherty from St. Louis on the cusp of the MLB commerce deadline for 3 high 20 prospects. In three begins with the Orioles, the 27-year-old pending free agent has a 7.07 ERA, although that’s bloated by a his tough outing in opposition to the Padres by which he threw 73 pitches over the primary two innings. Left-hander Drew Rom, one of many three prospects Baltimore parted with for Flaherty, allowed eight runs (six earned) in 3 2/3 innings in his MLB debut because the Cardinals’ starter Monday.
The Orioles have of late used a six-man rotation, giving younger starters akin to Kremer, Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez additional relaxation between outings. Thanks to current days off, they may briefly return to a five-man operation and have veteran Kyle Gibson begin Thursday, nonetheless with 5 days of relaxation. Flaherty is seemingly not an choice, with Hyde saying he’ll obtain “a little bit of a break.”
Days earlier than buying and selling for Flaherty, the Orioles optioned right-hander Tyler Wells, their high starter within the first half of the season, to Double-A Bowie after three tough begins out of the All-Star break, likewise citing considerations about fatigue. Hyde mentioned Tuesday that Wells will pitch for Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday to start working in a reduction position that might finally convey him again to Baltimore.
The Orioles added a recent arm to their bullpen earlier than Wednesday’s recreation, activating right-hander Austin Voth from the 60-day injured listing and optioning right-hander Mike Baumann to Norfolk. To create a gap for Voth, an extended reliever who had been on the IL with proper elbow discomfort since mid-June, on the 40-man roster, Baltimore transferred left-hander Keegan Akin (decrease again discomfort) to the 60-day IL. Akin was not anticipated to be an choice to return till someday in September.
In his first season as a full-time reliever, Baumann established himself as a key piece for Hyde, going 9-0 with a 3.31 ERA in his first 49 appearances. But fatigue additionally started to set in for Baumann, who has allowed seven runs (six earned) over seven innings in his previous seven appearances. He allowed three runs within the tenth inning of Tuesday evening’s loss to Toronto, giving up his second house run of the month after surrendering none throughout June and July. Baumann leads Orioles relievers in innings pitched and entered Wednesday tied for the group lead in appearances.
“I’ve been so impressed with him all year, the way he’s taken the ball, the way he stayed durable,” Hyde mentioned. “I love his competitiveness. He’s just in innings territory right now and appearance territory where he’s never been before, and we just feel like right now is the time to give him a little bit of a breather, send him down, kind of go on kind of a strict appearance, throwing program, low-pressure situations, kind of [like] we’ve done with some other guys. Hopefully, we’ll see him back up here soon because he’s done an amazing job for us this season.”
Despite a number of younger pitchers operating into proverbial partitions, Hyde mentioned the circumstances will assist these gamers in future seasons.
“It’s only going to benefit them and us,” Hyde mentioned. “They’re so young in their careers and their workloads, a lot of these guys have never done some of these things, and so now they’re going to have experiences and they’re able to go look back what they did last year, those type of things. Right now, everything’s new for a lot of guys.”
Around the horn
- Wednesday additionally delivered some constructive pitching information for the Orioles, with the membership saying left-hander John Means’ fourth rehabilitation begin will come Friday with Triple-A Norfolk. In three outings for Double-A Bowie as he works towards a return from May 2022 Tommy John elbow reconstruction, Means topped out at 4 innings and 57 pitches, including about 15 pitches to his workload with every begin. Hyde mentioned Tuesday that Means, an All-Star in 2019, is on monitor for an early September return to the majors.
- Outfielder Anthony Santander was again within the Orioles’ lineup in proper area after lacking the previous three video games with a sore again.
- Hyde mentioned second baseman Adam Frazier was unable to play Tuesday as he continues to cope with soreness in his proper hand, although he might seem off the bench Wednesday. Catcher James McCann has a “big blood blister” on his left hand after being hit by a pitch Tuesday, Hyde mentioned.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com