Orioles bullpen battle suddenly down to two names for final spot

The Baltimore Orioles are down in Florida trying to get things sorted out in spring training ahead of Opening Day. One roster battle has seemingly come down to just two guys, Albert Suarez and Dietrich Enns, as they compete for a role in the bullpen.

Neither guy would be the most high-profile bullpen arm on the team. All eyes will be on free-agent addition Ryan Helsley as he looks to get back to being one of the best closers in the game.

Orioles bullpen competition has come down to just two names

While the competition for the 13th man on the pitching staff is not exactly a sexy one, it could end up being an important one, especially early in the season with several question marks surrounding Baltimore's starting rotation.

Suarez brings a pedigree as a starter to the table. In 2024, with the Orioles, he made 32 appearances, pitching to a 3.70 ERA in 134 innings. It was a remarkable season considering he had not pitched in the big leagues since 2017 with the San Francisco Giants.

The hope was that he could be a solid contributor in 2025 yet again, but an elbow injury derailed that hope as he was limited to just five appearances on the season and had a 2.31 ERA in 12 innings of work.

As for Enns, the left-hander would also be a solid long relief man to have in the bullpen. Like Suarez, he had a pretty big gap in his MLB resume as he hadn't pitched in the big leagues since 2021 before last season. With Baltimore, he had a 3.14 ERA in 17 appearances and 30 innings pitched.

Looking at their spring training numbers thus far, Suarez has allowed eight earned runs in 6 and 2/3 innings of work, while Enns has allowed seven runs in 3 and 1/3 innings, so neither has been all that impressive.

The Orioles are toying with the idea of having a six-man rotation to begin the year but that uncertainty around the rotation may be exactly why the team could use a guy who can come in and eat up innings or provide a start if needed, although there is the chance neither guy will last very long on the roster even if they make the Opening Day squad.

One projection has Enns making the team, which may have to do with the fact that he's a lefty, so he may have the upper hand, but Suarez could still be a contributor at some point.