Even with 6-man rotation, Orioles plan to keep Corbin Burnes on schedule

The Orioles have a problem most teams across baseball would gladly take on: They are about to have too many healthy pitchers and not enough spots to put them.

Grayson Rodriguez (shoulder inflammation) is nearing his return from the injured list, forcing the Orioles to get creative about how best to deploy their pitching staff that has the best ERA in the majors since the start of May. With the club facing a difficult schedule that includes 43 games in 45 days, the Orioles have started to plan for a six-man rotation to accommodate their deep well of starting pitchers.

“We would expect to go to a six-man probably here pretty soon with that kind of long stretch coming up,” manager Brandon Hyde said before Friday night’s 9-2 win against the Seattle Mariners. “So, we feel great about adding a really good starter right now into our bullpen. It’s kind of a unique deal but with Grayson coming off the IL, it’s just kind of where we are roster-wise.”

Baltimore hasn’t announced when Rodriguez will return, but Hyde said Friday that the right-hander wouldn’t need a rehabilitation start; the team has yet to name its starters for Saturday or Sunday. A rain out Tuesday and a day off Thursday have already forced the Orioles to shuffle a few pitchers around. They temporarily moved Cole Irvin, who’s 4-1 with a 2.90 ERA this season, to the bullpen to allow John Means to pitch on five days’ rest. Dean Kremer hasn’t pitched since Sunday and Corbin Burnes would be on track to start Saturday if he follows his typical schedule.

As the Orioles craft their rotation plans for the next six weeks, Burnes’ schedule is the first piece they plan to place in the puzzle. The right-hander is the only Orioles starter who has not been skipped through a turn of the rotation at least once this season, and for good reason. He leads the rotation in ERA (2.68), WHIP (1.07) and groundball rate (51.4%), living up to his billing as a Cy Young candidate.

“We kinda mapped out Burnes and filled in a little bit with the other guys on how we see fit,” Hyde said. “We’re not in that stretch yet, but it’s coming soon, so we’re trying to keep them all healthy as possible. Then when we have that stretch we can probably go into a six-man rotation, which does limit a bullpen arm, which does put some stress on the ’pen.”

To keep Burnes on schedule, the Orioles will have to use a modified version of a six-man rotation that skips the occasional starter every week or two. Regardless of whether he starts Saturday or Sunday, Burnes will be in line to make six starts over the next 45 days with a seventh start following the June 17 day off that concludes their stretch of near-everyday games.

That stretch won’t be an easy run of opponents either. After their road trip against the last place teams of the two central divisions, the Orioles will play 14 straight against American League East rivals, including eight on the road. They’ll then return to Camden Yards to host the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies, the top two teams in the National League East.

“Daunting is that many days without an off day, not the AL East part,” Hyde said. “The opponents we’re gonna face, record-wise, it looks like all the teams are playing well and are good teams. Without an off day in there, one, it’s going to be a challenge. And then the AL East, they’re really good clubs that can pitch and can hurt you. Hopefully, we go into that stretch as healthy as possible.”

The Orioles’ pitching staff is nearly at full strength, and a benefit of spreading out their starters now is limiting their total innings for the long run. Baltimore’s rotation contains three starters with workload concerns: Kyle Bradish, who partially tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow five months ago; Means, a former Tommy John recipient who began the season on the injured list; and Rodriguez, who has never pitched more than 122 innings in a season and just needed a break because of shoulder inflammation.

By maximizing the number of starts Burnes can make while giving their three starters with injury histories an extra day off between starts for a month, the Orioles can strike the rare balance of chasing every regular-season win they can while putting themselves in the best position to have a healthy roster for the playoffs in October.

“You don’t want to miss any starts, but if it helps you in the long run, obviously it’s a long season,” Rodriguez said last week of whether his IL stint could help him get through the rest of the year healthy. “I want to be healthy for September and October and that’s the goal. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”