Baltimore Orioles Demote Top Pitching Prospect After Seven Starts

When the Baltimore Orioles gave one of their top minor league arms a look in the MLB, there was excitement, but after a limited time he's been demoted back to Triple-A.

Jun 29, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Cade Povich (37) walks to the dugout during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles came into this season expecting to have one of the best rotations in all of baseball after they landed past NL Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes to be the ace of their staff.

With the star right-hander alongside rising youngsters Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez, they had a great three-headed monster for any playoff series. Having John Means back from injury and Tyler Wells filling out the starting unit gave this team five above-average arms they could throw every night.

Unfortunately, that dream never came to fruition.

Bradish, Means and Wells all underwent season-ending surgeries. That left this rotation in a tough spot as their once strong unit was decimated.

The natural reaction was for general manager Mike Elias to make a blockbuster deal for one of the best pitchers on the market, but he didn't want to be hasty and has operated patiently.

His first step was to see what his internal candidates could offer. This prompted him to promote their star pitching prospect Cade Povich to the Major League roster and get a look at what the 24-year-old could do.

If he were able to step in and perform consistently, that would allow the Orioles to utilize him for the remainder of the season and limit how many assets they had to give up to bring in another starter.

But after Povich's seventh start, Baltimore has decided to option him to Triple-A.

We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/nN8rQmgq7V

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 13, 2024

As announced by the Orioles, they have called up veteran reliever Vinny Nittoli and sent the No. 8 prospect in their pipeline down to the minors after his Major League stint.

At times, it looked like Povich could be the answer they were searching for.

He gave up three earned runs or less in five of his seven starts, including shutting out the Atlanta Braves over six innings during his second-ever MLB outing. But, his ERA was inflated to 6.27 after his performance against the New York Yankees on Friday saw him give up three earned runs during 5.1 innings of work.

The real issue for the left-hander was his command, though.

Povich routinely ran his pitch count up high early because he had trouble finding the strike zone on a consistent basis. He'll leave this Major League stint having walked 18 batters compared to 24 strikeouts across his 33 innings pitched.

Nittoli will be another bullpen option they turn to at this point in the season.

They signed him to a minor league contract on July 2 after he became a free agent. He's pitched in 13 MLB games during his career, posting a 3.07 ERA.

Coulombe wasn't expected to be back until September following getting surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow, so this move to the 60-day injured list just makes things official and frees up another potential spot as he rehabs his way back to the mound this year.