Pitching Headlines Baltimore Orioles Needs Again After Latest Injury

With their latest injury, the Baltimore Orioles are going to need pitching help, and potentially a lot of it.

Apr 26, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Danny Coulombe (54) looks on during the seventh inning against the Oakland Athletics at Oriole Park at Camden Yards / Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles are putting together another incredible season.

Battling it out with the revamped New York Yankees for supremacy at the top of the AL East, they are doing what many people doubted coming into the year as there were questions if this group would be able to put together back-to-back dominant showings.

Powered by their incredible lineup and high-end starting pitching, the Orioles look like legitimate World Series contenders, something that would have been crazy to say just two seasons ago.

Approaching the trade deadline, general manager Mike Elias and his front office have to figure out what roster upgrades they will make to truly position themselves for a deep playoff run.

Right now, the need is apparent.

Baltimore will be without John Means and Tyler Wells for the rest of the way after they both underwent Tommy John surgery. Their superstar closer, Felix Bautista, is already on the shelf for all of 2024 because of his own Tommy John procedure.

On Tuesday, they had to put high-leverage reliever Danny Coulombe on the 15-day injured list with soreness in his left elbow.

Based on how these situations have gone for the Orioles recently, there is cause for concern.

It also should show the front office they can never have too many pitching options, especially during a long season where issues like this emerge at any point.

Elias doesn't want to panic and make a hasty move, however, it's clear Baltimore is going to need to target outside help, even if their internal options are able to be viable pitchers when called upon.

It's been years since the Orioles were relevant and looked like a team who could actually win the coveted championship at the end of the season.

They have that opportunity right now.

The perks of having such a loaded farm system is they can afford to go out and be aggressive at the deadline to bring in impact players who can help them on their journey without mortgaging the future health of the organization.

Another starting arm and bullpen pieces have to be at the top of their priority list.

Coulombe's recent injury is just another reason for that.