Baltimore Orioles: Zach Britton update & the rest of the bullpen

In some good news from the Baltimore Orioles, closing pitcher Zach Britton‘s surgery to repair his ruptured Achilles tendon went well.

The Baltimore Orioles left-handed ace closer shared the good news from his Twitter account.

Hoping for a quick recovery

The surgery was performed on Thursday at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, California. It is a part of the highly respected Cedars-Sinai academic healthcare organization. The surgery was performed by Dr. Kenneth Jung, MD, a Board-Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon who specializes in podiatry.

Back in 2015, Atlanta Braves pitcher Jason Grilli ruptured his Achilles tendon while on the mound. He, like Britton, had surgery to repair the damage. Yesterday, Grilli was on MLB Network Radio talking about his experience with his injury and surgery. Grilli’s experience provides hope for Britton fans. If Grilli could be put back together, Britton will be put back together, too.

One of the best bullpens in the MLB

Fortunately for the Orioles, they have a solid bullpen that will be able to fill in while Britton is out. When Britton was on the DL in 2017, Brad Brach did a fine job closing games. He had 18 saves in the 67 games in which he pitched. Of the games that he was assigned to close, he blew four saves. In games where he did not close, he added nine holds.

To split duties with Brach, the Orioles could turn to Mychal Givens. Although, after Givens performance as an occasional closer in 2017, he might have to prove himself in Spring Training before he is given the opportunity in the season. Givens pitched in 69 games and earned a respectable 21 holds. But, when he was put in to close, he blew six saves without getting any positive stats in this category.

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Darren O’Day might also see some time in the last inning of games. O’Day generally is the owner of the seventh inning where he earned 17 holds for his work in 2017. He did get the last inning in a handful of games and he ended up with two saves from early in the 2017 season. He blew one save and blew one lead in all of 2017.

Richard Bleier is another relief pitcher who could take on some of Britton’s innings. He’s one of the few left-handed arms in Birdland. He usually pitched in the eighth inning or in low-leverage situations when games were clearly lost. He doesn’t have the holds or saves that other relief pitchers have, but he did finish the 2017 season with one of the better ERAs on the team: 1.99 with a WHIP of 1.184.

Next: The O's should not release Zach Britton

The O’s may be without their ace closer in 2018, but they still have one of the better bullpens in the game.