Baltimore Orioles 'Won't Completely Dismiss' This Plan for Their Rotation

The Baltimore Orioles could choose to go with this set up in their rotation.

Jul 27, 2022; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias stands oil the field before the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Barring another late blockbuster move, the Baltimore Orioles' roster is pretty much set.

Their two high-profile free agents, Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander, are now officially with new teams following the ace's decision to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the star slugger agreeing to a long-term contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Not having Burnes will sting more than Santander.

With so many star prospects coming up through the ranks on the offensive side of things, the Orioles were well equipped to handle the right fielder's departure even if they felt the need to sign Tyler O'Neill.

But with Kyle Bradish set to the miss the first half of the upcoming season, if not all of it, the rotation looks much worse on paper than it was last year.

Dylan Cease and Luis Castillo continue to be floated as options, but right now, Baltimore seems content heading into Spring Training with their current crop.

While the starting group isn't star-studded like other contending teams, they do have plenty of depth that can be deployed throughout the season as necessary depending on injuries or poor performances that could occur.

In fact, there is some thought the Orioles could look to use a six-man rotation, especially since they added Japanese starter Tomoyuki Sugano who is used to that schedule in Nippon Professional Baseball.

Going with that set up for the entire 162-game schedule would be unorthodox, but it's not something that is being ruled out by general manager Mike Elias.

"We've had kind of, I'd say, low-intensity discussions about that possibility. Right now, that is not the plan, but it could turn into the plan. We're not in a hurry to make that decision. We'll see where we're at as camp's going," he told Roch Kubatko of MASN.

Based on those comments, it doesn't sound likely a six-man approach will be used, but it's also interesting to think about who would in the mix.

The group of Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez, Charlie Morton, Dean Kremer and Sugano seem locked into the rotation as of now, but since that is a righty-only group, they could look to utilize past trade deadline acquisition Trevor Rogers or top prospect Cade Povich to break things up.

Like Elias said, they will weigh those options before making a decision.

During Spring Training, this will be something to monitor.