6-man rotation is officially happening

[interloper]

Quote

Grayson Rodriguez will rejoin the Orioles without going on an injury rehab assignment.

The exact date of his return wasn’t shared this afternoon during manager Brandon Hyde’s media session, but a six-man rotation is in the works.

...

“We expect to go to a six-man probably here pretty soon with that long stretch coming up,” Hyde said. “We feel great about adding a really good starter right now into our bullpen [Irvin]. It’s kind of a unique deal. But with Grayson coming off the IL, it’s just kind of where we are roster-wise.”

https://www.masnsports.com/blog/orioles-pregame-notes-on-rotation-mullins-hays-and-more

Sounds like it will be pretty temporary and specific to the long stretch of games. Could get dicey with the bullpen, but this is where I expect to see some optionable guys get used. Maybe Akin throws a few innings, they option him, bring up Vespi or whomever, rotate him out for Tate, rotate him out for Akin, etc. 

Edited May 17 by interloper

[Frobby]

I think it makes a ton of sense for the upcoming stretch.  30 games in 31 days starting next Friday.  

[Sports Guy]

4 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I think it makes a ton of sense for the upcoming stretch. 

Why?

 

I think it makes less sense because you have one less BP arm.  Why are we worried about innings right now?

[Winter]

Just now, Sports Guy said:

Why?

 

I think it makes less sense because you have one less BP arm.  Why are we worried about innings right now?

Especially when your manager loves to take the SP out early and use 4-7 RPs per game 

[Frobby]

Just now, Sports Guy said:

Why?

 

I think it makes less sense because you have one less BP arm.  Why are we worried about innings right now?

I think it’s hard to pitch on four days’ rest without a break for a full month.  I do agree it may stress the bullpen.  If so, they’ll have to adjust. 

[Sports Guy]

1 minute ago, Frobby said:

I think it’s hard to pitch on four days’ rest without a break for a full month.  

Why?  Is there evidence that making 5 or 6 straight starts on normal rest is more difficult?

[dystopia]

5 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Why?

 

I think it makes less sense because you have one less BP arm.  Why are we worried about innings right now?

Yeah and it's not like we have a bunch of optionable RPs to manage the workload. This is going to be interesting. Don't like the decision.

[OriolesMagic83]

Yeah, less time until bullpen implodes.  Can't wait.

[Sports Guy]

And Burnes will stay on regular rest. It makes sense but would make sense to do the same with GRod and Bradish too.  You can extend out the others. 
 

 

[interloper]

Count me on the side of the fence that likes it. I think the team is pretty good at creative bullpen moves and they will figure it out. I want all these guys starting while they're good and healthy. 

Akin's option will definitely be used during this stretch. 

Edited May 17 by interloper

[Frobby]

Just now, Sports Guy said:

Why?  Is there evidence that making 5 or 6 straight starts on normal rest is more difficult?

Just to elaborate, Kremer didn’t miss a start last year.  But he only pitched on 4 days rest 11 times.  Quite often, off days intervene and the pitcher gets an extra day.  Burnes made 32 starts and only pitched on 4 days rest 6 times.  

Is there evidence about 5 or 6 straight starts on normal rest?  That’s for Sig and his boys to know, not me.  
 

[HandsomeQuack]

The six-man sounds nice, but unless it's combined with getting more length out of your starters, you're just going to get a more tired pen.

[maybenxtyr]

I expect that it will be short lived. Maybe a couple of weeks until someone is either injured or ineffective as a starter and then they pair back down to the typical 5.

[Hallas]

36 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Just to elaborate, Kremer didn’t miss a start last year.  But he only pitched on 4 days rest 11 times.  Quite often, off days intervene and the pitcher gets an extra day.  Burnes made 32 starts and only pitched on 4 days rest 6 times.  

Is there evidence about 5 or 6 straight starts on normal rest?  That’s for Sig and his boys to know, not me.  
 

5 days of rest seems to be marginally better than 4; in 2022 and 2023 pitchers performed slightly better all around on 5 days of rest, and teams have been inclined to put pitchers on 5 days' rest more often.

 

The difference is pretty slight, though.  I don't think the rotation is a huge deal given the number of days we're playing in a row.   Assuming you add an extra days' rest after the pitcher's throw day, you can just use the next day's starter out of the bullpen if today's starter gets shelled.

[Malike]

24 minutes ago, maybenxtyr said:

I expect that it will be short lived. Maybe a couple of weeks until someone is either injured or ineffective as a starter and then they pair back down to the typical 5.

I agree with this. I suspect it's to see how Rodriguez and Means look over the next couple of starts and see how the shoulder is for Rodriguez, and how effective both pitchers are.