Photo Credit: Associated Press
The Baltimore Orioles did something that many fans were hounding them to do for weeks now and that was to designate ‘Sweaty’ Freddy Garcia for assignment. Garcia made 10 starts for the team and went 3-5 with an ERA/FIP line of 5.77/6.73, a K/9 rate of 4.42, a BB/9 rate of 2.04, and a HR/9 rate of 2.72. He managed just four quality starts with the club and only one of those starts was truly great when he pitched eight innings of shutout ball against the Washington Nationals on May 30.
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That was the lone highlight of his work here with the Orioles however and now his place in the rotation is no more. Now that the wily veteran is no longer occupying that last spot in the rotation who should replace him? In order to answer that question we really need to do a quick review of who already has their spots locked up.
Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez have been the Orioles most consistent starters with Wei-Yin Chen still out due to an injury, although he had a successful rehab stint on Monday and expects a return to action in a week or two. Jason Hammel has been up and down all season long but he’s certainly not going anywhere as he could easily turn it around and perform as he did last season.
Ideally we only need to cover two more starts until Chen comes back and once he does there will only be one spot left in the rotation, which is currently being held by Zach Britton. Does this mean that once Chen comes back the rotation will consist of Tillman, Chen, Hammel, Gonzalez, and Britton? It’s likely but we’re still nearly two weeks away from knowing that for sure.
The first of those two starts occurs this Friday in the series opener with the New York Yankees. Kevin Gausman was recalled and it appears that he will make that start, even though the starter for that game has yet to be officially announced. The second start before Chen is likely to be back takes place on July 4 against the Chicago White Sox and Gausman could start that game as well.
It appears the competition for that last spot in the rotation is really between Britton and Gausman as one is already in the rotation (Britton) and the other (Gausman) is going to get a two start re-audition. Britton has spent the majority of this season in Triple-A Norfolk after a disappointing start back in April.
During his time in the minors though he has steadily improved his command and regained confidence in his arsenal. Over 11 starts with Norfolk he pitched 60.1 innings, striking out 6.6 batters per nine innings, and had an ERA/FIP line of 3.28/3.43. Over his two starts since being recalled to the Orioles he has pitched 10.1 innings, striking out six, walking six, and giving up four earned runs – but he is getting ground balls at an impressive 50% rate.
Gausman on the other hand has made five starts for the Orioles this season, pitching 24.2 innings while giving up 21 earned runs, seven home runs, and being the owner of a 7.66/5.84 ERA/FIP line. On a positive note he has only walked six and struck out 20 batters. Another thing to mention that could indicate he was just adjusting to the big leagues is that his xFIP (expected FIP) is actually just 3.76, so it’s possible that he could turn the corner and give us two strong starts before Chen comes back.
As of now I have to say that I believe the Orioles rotation actually improved by simple addition by subtraction. Garcia wasn’t getting it done and he served his purpose well as a veteran used to fill up space until guys like Britton were back to form, Chen was healthy, or Gausman could contribute at this level. He managed to buy us a little bit of time and I can’t say that I believe the rotation is as bad off as some believe it is now.
What do you think? Is the rotation now better off than it was before by simply removing Garcia from it?
