Baltimore Orioles Active Star Reliever Ahead Of Huge New York Yankees Series

Some roster moves were announced for the Baltimore Orioles amid an injury that made them a bit thin in their bullpen.

Oct 8, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Cionel Perez (58) / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles are coming off a disappointing result where they dropped two out of three against the Oakland Athletics at home over the weekend.

That puts them at 17-10, one game back from the AL East lead ahead of their huge four-game series against the leading New York Yankees starting on Monday.

Their bullpen was dealt a hit when closer Craig Kimbrel departed Sunday's game with an injury after blowing his third save of the season.

But, the Orioles will get some help back as Jake Rill of MLB.com reported they are activating their star left-handed reliever Cionel Perez from the injured list.

Perez was only able to appear in one game this season, but couldn't finish an inning before going down with a right oblique strain.

Getting him back will be a major boost as the lefty has an ERA of 2.59 across his 132 appearances. His ERA+ of 155 over 111 innings pitched is 55 percentage points above the average, meaning he's been one of the top bullpen arms since they claimed him off waivers in December 2021.

In order to make room on the roster for Perez, Baltimore optioned Dillon Tate to Triple-A.

Tate was one of the few relievers on the Orioles with options remaining so they decided to send him down instead of Yennier Cano, Keegan Akin, or anyone who could have been claimed off waivers, despite having a 2.84 ERA across his 11 games.

How long he stays down in the minors will be seen since he's performed so well since coming back from missing all of the 2023 season.

Baltimore is also expected to get back their two starters in Kyle Bradish and John Means soon, so there will likely be even more movement across their pitching staff.