Chris Bassitt Needs to Turn It Around for the Orioles This Season

The Baltimore Orioles made a lot of changes to their starting rotation heading into 2026. One of those alleged upgrades was acquiring veteran Chris Bassitt. Bassitt has a long history of success in MLB, and the Orioles were hoping that success would continue into this season.

Unfortunately, it has not happened as they planned. Now, with the Astros on the horizon, it is time for the veteran to reset the standard and turn his season around.

POSITIVE REGRESSION IS DUE

Apr 22, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) delivers a pitch against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Bassitt is a 37-year-old starter who has been pitching in the Majors since 2014 with the Chicago White Sox. He then spent 2015-2021 with the Athletics, one year with the Mets in 2022, and three with the Toronto Blue Jays. Now, he makes his stop in Baltimore, and it has been anything but pretty.

Bassitt’s ERA is 6.75, his WHIP is 2.063, he is allowing 13.1 hits per 9 innings, he has allowed 13 walks to only ten strikeouts, and has given up three home runs and 17 runs in total. All of this has happened in just 21.1 innings this season.

There have been just two seasons in Bassitt’s long MLB career where his ERA was higher than 4.00: 2016 (6.11 ERA in five starts) and in 2024 (4.16 in 31 starts). Last year, his ERA was 3.96 in 31 starts, and he struck out 3.19 batters for every walk he allowed. That is the biggest key to Bassitt’s turnaround. His control. If Bassitt can lower the walks, he will have fewer people on base, which will lead to fewer runs.

Having more walks than strikeouts is very concerning, but it leads to the issue being more mechanical than anything. Mechanics can be fixed and adjusted, and Bassitt is a competitor and a veteran. He has had his struggles before, so he knows what it takes to get back on track.

The other silver lining to Bassitt’s season is that most of his bad numbers came in three games, while his other two were actually quite good. His starts on April 11th and April 16th, and he allowed a total of one earned run in 9.2 innings pitched, both of which were Orioles’ wins. He did allow five walks in those two games, but he limited the damage.

Sure, those games were against the Guardians and the Giants, two teams with relatively anemic offenses, but success is success. Bassitt should look back at those starts and use them as motivation to get himself back to that state. His last start came against another weak offense in the Royals, and he allowed five runs in 5.1 innings. It is time for him to discard that game in his brain and focus on the previous two starts where he had some success.

The Orioles play in one of the best divisions in baseball, and pitching is imperative for team success. The entire starting rotation has seen regression in 2026, but now is the time for the veteran leader of the group to reset the narrative and take control of the situation. Sure, the Astros offense is very good. It will not be an easy task. But if Bassitt goes out and shoves against one of MLB’s best offenses, it will do wonders for his confidence. He can help lead these starters who are down in the dumps a little of late, pick their heads up, and get back to where they know they should be.

With Bassitt’s turnaround comes a turnaround for an entire staff and hopefully an entire team. The veteran needs to do veteran things, put in the work, and lead by example. No one expects a Cy Young from Bassitt; they just need him to be serviceable and consistent. Consistent has been Bassitt’s name throughout his career, so it is time that he gets some positive regression in his favor, allowing him to begin to fix this starting rotation that has had more than its share of struggles and injuries so far in 2026.

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