With a 26-13 record, the Orioles are half a game ahead of the Yankees atop the AL East and the best team in the American League. Once more, Baltimore appears to be among the league’s top clubs and is leaning toward making a trade at the deadline.
Defending the bullpen’s rear might be one area of focus this summer. Due to Tommy John surgery last fall, Baltimore lost top closer Félix Bautista. To strengthen the ninth inning, they inked Craig Kimbrel to a $13 million deal, their first major league free agency acquisition of the winter. That hasn’t quite turned out the way the front desk had planned. Kimbrel’s standing as a closer is in doubt due to his recent troubles.
In Baltimore’s victory over the Diamondbacks on Friday, Kimbrel was deployed in the seventh inning. After the game, manager Brandon Hyde was evasive when asked if the nine-time All-Star’s new job would be permanent. Since then, the O’s haven’t faced a save situation, but on Saturday they did deploy Yennier Cano in the top of the ninth during a tied game—a circumstance in which a team usually calls on its closer. In that game, Kimbrel pitched a scoreless eleventh inning to earn the victory as the Orioles were out of the game in the bottom half.
Before the deadline, Kimbrel has more than two months to throw his way back into the ninth inning. However, if the veteran’s play doesn’t improve, the Orioles have enough options at their disposal to look at other options. In light of this, the O’s will keep an eye on the health of seasoned closers like Jordan Romano, Ryan Helsley, and Ryan Pressly, according to a piece written over the weekend by Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
