Baltimore Orioles Make Critical Decision Prior To Opening Day

When the Baltimore Orioles sent down starting pitcher Dean Kremer to Triple-A on March 21, 2026, it came as a shock to many, as Kremer has been a mainstay of Baltimore's rotation for half of a decade. However, it shouldn't come as a surprise, as Kremer has significantly struggled in the month of April throughout his major league career. 

In the month of April last season, Kremer struggled with a 6.41 ERA through his first five starts. You could argue that Baltimore's main reasoning to send down Kremer was due to his bad 

With that being said, the demotion of Kremer sent a message that Baltimore will be moving forward with a five man pitching rotation, not a six man. 

It was announced that Baltimore would head into 2026 with a pitching rotation of Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz, Chris Bassitt and Zach Eflin. By doing so, it left Kremer on the outside looking in.

I personally believed that Baltimore would have gone with a six man rotation, especially as a way to preserve the arms of Bradish, Baz and Eflin who have all dealt with injuries recently. However, Baltimore would ultimately elect to go with a five man rotation, in large part due to the strong spring training campaigns of each starting pitcher. 

 Rogers has carried his success from 2025 over into 2026, as he's posted a 2.51 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 14.1 innings of work throughout spring training. Rogers' elite play has not gone unnoticed, as he was announced to be Baltimore's opening day starter this season. 

Bradish was at one point the best pitcher on the 101 win Baltimore team, however, his injury history has kept him mostly sidelined for the past two seasons. However, Bradish is having an extremely strong spring training this year, posting a 3.60 ERA with nine strikeouts in 10 innings of work. 

Baz was acquired in December from the Tampa Bay Rays, and has dazzled so far in the orange and white. Although he's only posted a 5.06 ERA, his swing and miss stuff is dynamic. Baz has struck out nine batters in 5.1 innings of work, and has a 15.2 K/9. Baz is currently projected to be Baltimore's third starter in their rotation. 

Newly acquired Bassitt has also been dynamite in spring training for Baltimore. Coming over on a one year, $18.5 million dollar contract, Bassitt has lived up to that contract (so far). In 14.1 innings, Bassitt has posted a stellar 2.51 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and .170 opponent batting average. Bassitt will provide much needed leadership and production for Baltimore's starting pitching rotation in 2026. 

Eflin will return for his second full season in Baltimore, and has already looked like the pitcher of old, not of last year. In 7.1 innings of work, Eflin allowed ZERO runs while only giving up two hits and striking out ten batters. If Baltimore gets this version of Eflin, they may have the best pithing rotation in the American League.

There's no denying that Baltimore's rotation has looked phenomenal in spring training, so maybe optioning Kremer wasn't all that bad of a move.

With that being said, Kremer could very well get called back up in a few weeks, but it seems like Baltimore likes the identity of their rotation right now. Kremer will be a legitimate weapon out of either the bullpen or rotation later in the summer.