Baltimore Orioles Planning To Utilize Recent Signing in Long Relief and as Starter

The Baltimore Orioles recently claimed a pitcher off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels, are are now planning to utilize him in long-relief and as a starter.

Jeremy Trottier | Feb 28, 2025

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Roansy Contreras delivers against the Texas Rangers during the eighth inning at Globe Life Field. / Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images

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Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles have had a relatively strong offseason, however with some notable departures also on the way out, it muddies the waters a little bit when it comes to how they will produce in 2025. With some larger signings such as Tyler O'Neill, Charlie Morton, and Tomoyuki Sugano, some of the depth moves they have made have become overlooked.

One of the more recent moves they made was claiming pitcher Roansy Contreras from waivers, previously of the Los Angeles Angels. Contreras has worked in many different capacities throughout his MLB career, starting 33 of his 90 career appearances, and also producing three saves in that span, mixing relief pitching with starts at multiple points.

That left the question of where the Orioles may be using him heading into the 2025 season, and whether or not he is in heavy consideration to get playing time. The prior question was answered recently, as manager Brandon Hyde made it clear that they will be stretching Contreras to a starting role once again, as was reported by Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun.

In addition, Andy Kosta of The Baltimore Banner provided further information from the discussion, stating the Orioles are looking to give Contreras the ability to play in multiple roles, including long relief and starting, rather than one or the other.

As both mentioned, Contreras is out of options and is currently on the 40-man roster, which means the Orioles will likely be looking to get everything they can out of him. With his options run out, Baltimore would have to place him on waivers before sending him back to the minor leagues, which opens him up to being claimed by another team.

Contreras has been solid at points during his career, with 2024 being a solid season for him, pitching in 49 games across two teams (Angels and New York Yankees), accruing a 4.35 ERA, 1.376 WHIP, 56 strikeouts to 31 walks (1.81 SO/BB), and also putting together two saves. His best career season would likely be 2022, where he had 21 games played (18 starts), and in 95.0 innings of work produced a 3.79 ERA, 1.274 WHIP, 86 strikeouts to 39 walks (2.21 SO/BB), and had a 5-5 record.

Contreras is one of the most intriguing players when it comes to spring training this year for the Orioles, as he can really land a strong opportunity if he continues to do well. In his first appearance of the spring, he pitched 1.1 innings, retiring every batter he faced. He will now look to make the opening day roster as either a spot starter or long reliever.

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