Baltimore Orioles Insider Shifts Focus To Bullpen Among Biggest Needs

The Baltimore Orioles have a growing list of needs ahead of the MLB trade deadline, but could they find an option in their farm system for one of those holes?

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Everyone knows that the Baltimore Orioles need new starting pitching ahead of the MLB trade deadline, but the bullpen may also need some sprucing up.

As Baltimore insider Roch Kubato examined the state of the pitching staff, he came to the conclusion that a new player needs to emerge after Danny Coulombe's injury and offered some alternatives to a big-time trade.

"I’ll rejoin the chorus that wonders if there are in-house options for the club, while also emphasizing the need for a trade that doesn’t cost a package of big-time prospects. It’s a reliever, for crying out loud," said Kubato.

As a whole, the Baltimore bullpen has been fine. The staff ranks at about middle of MLB with a 3.80 ERA. They aren't anything to write home about, for the most part, but they certainly aren't bad.

Craig Kimbrel was considered to be the biggest worry heading into the season as the closer, but has turned back into a reliable arm after a rocky beginning. His 23 saves are as many or more than he's had in an entire season for all but one year since 2019.

Keegan Akin flashes excellence but is also a bit inconsistent. Every now and then, he'll have a rough couple of stretches. Over the past two weeks, batters are slashing .308/.308/.846 against him.

Yennier Cano may not be as dominant as his All-Star campaign last year, but is more than serviceable.

Losing Coulombe ,though, meant losing a 2.42 ERA pitcher with just a 0.615 WHIP that has allowed just a .146/.174/.281 slashing line. They have a couple of nice pitchers ahead of Kimbrel in the pen, but now desperately need another.

Among the in-house choices for replacements offered by Kubato were Chayce McDermott, Tucker Davidson and Trey McGough.

McDermott has been developed as a starter, but his 13.1 K/9 in Triple-A Norfolk makes him hard to resist at least giving a chance at 25 years old. His future may be brightest as a starter, but taking the risk of putting him in the pen might be worth it. As a righty, though, he wouldn't fill the void in lefty-lefty match-ups.

McGough is another older prospect, but he just reached the Triple-A level for the second time at 26 years old and first time since 2022. In 12 games in Norfolk, he has a 2.57 ERA with a 1.179 WHIP and 8.7 K/9. The southpaw does offer some upside as a lefty specialist at least.

Davidson offers the most experience in MLB play, but has a career 5.98 ERA with just 7.3 K/9 across 55 games. He does look better than ever in Norfolk this season, though bringing everything down significantly while raising the strikeout numbers.

It's hard to find a perfect replacement for a player like Coulombe, but these guys may be worth a look before trading away too much for a relief pitcher.