Craig Albernaz sparks Orioles' bullpen concerns with Andrew Kittredge timeline

The injury bug has bitten the Baltimore Orioles again this spring, with Craig Albernaz announcing this morning that Andrew Kittredge is dealing with shoulder inflammation and will most likely miss opening day. Kittredge is supposed to play a major role in the Orioles' bullpen this season, and losing him will force everyone else in the bullpen up a notch. That's going to lead to some uncomfortable high-leverage innings in the first month of the season.

The Orioles made Kittredge a vital part of the 2026 team when they decided that they only needed to bring in two experienced relievers this offseason after selling off almost the entire bullpen at last year's trade deadline.

Without Andrew Kittredge, the Orioles bullpen is extremely vulnerable

With Kittredge out, the Orioles already shaky bullpen is in truly bad shape. If Ryan Helsley doesn't bounce back to his pre-Mets form or if he joins Kittredge on the IL, then the Orioles might have the single worst bullpen in all of baseball. Not even the Rockies would be jealous of a Keegan Akin-led bullpen.

In the same media availability where Albernaz announced Kittredge's injury, he also officially revealed that Tyler Wells would start the season in the bullpen. The Orioles had been feigning that Wells would start the season as a starter, but most believed he was always ticketed for the pen, in a swingman/spot-starter role who could also cover high-leverage innings in a pinch. It appears that pinch has started now, and Wells will be responsible for filling in for Kittredge as the primary setup man.

Also moving up in importance is Keegan Akin. That is bad news for the Orioles. Akin has some decent career numbers as a reliever, but a closer look at his reliever numbers reveals that low-leverage innings are doing much of the work, driving his career numbers.

Last season, after the trade deadline, the Orioles' main closer was Akin. He racked up 8 saves and 6 blown saves. He is just not cut out for leverage situations; forcing him into a role where he'd be the Orioles' go-to guy in the 7th or 8th inning of close games is begging for disaster.

The only other option with real big league experience is Yennier Cano. Cano has been a great setup man in the past, but since his peak in early 2023, his results on the mound have been steadily declining. In 2025, he had an ERA of 5.12, which is not an ideal number for a high-leverage reliever. If Cano can return to what he was from 2023 to 2024, that might solve the whole problem, but that's resting a lot of hope on a guy who's been struggling for a while now.

Besides Wells, Akin, and Cano, the Orioles don't have much experience they can turn to. The other relief pitchers on the Orioles ' 40-man, Enns, Espada, Foster, Garcia, Hiraldo, Kowar, McDermott, Nunez, and Wolfram, combine for a total of 295.2 career innings; Kittredge, by himself, has 338.1.

Sometimes, a good bullpen arm can come from out of nowhere, so the Orioles can hope that one of these arms they've brought in off the waiver wire pops for them, but that seems like an irresponsible strategy for a team that believes they are contenders. If the Orioles are actually serious about contending, they'll make a move before the end of spring training to reinforce their bullpen.