Orioles get a much needed bullpen boost ahead of pivotal road trip

The Baltimore Orioles are about to face maybe their toughest test of the season as they prepare for a nine-game West Coast road trip where they'll face the AL West leading Mariners and the defending World Series champions Dodgers. Even the final three games against the Angels will be difficult, as the Angels are a much better team at home, which they demonstrated last week, winning back-to-back series against the Rays and Astros. With where the Orioles currently sit in the standings, they can't afford to get beaten up on during this road trip. Fortunately for the Orioles, they are getting a key piece back from the injured list just in time for this gauntlet of west coast opponents, their closer Ryan Helsley.

In the first month of the season, Helsley looked close to the best version of himself. His K% was back up over 30% for the first time since 2023. He was forcing batters to whiff at an elite rate, and when they did manage to put bat on ball more often than not, it ended up being a harmless grounder. He was perfect in save situations and was rocking a 2.53 ERA with a 2.25 FIP. He looked like the pitcher the Orioles dreamed he'd be when they signed him.

Ryan Helsley's return comes at the perfect time

With Helsley locking down the ninth inning, the rest of the Orioles bullpen fell into place neatly around him, and in the month of April, they were a top-five bullpen in baseball by ERA. When Helsley went down, everything fell apart for the Orioles bullpen, and they've since been one of the worst in baseball. With Helsley returning to take care of the ninth inning, the Orioles' bullpen should settle into a productive middle ground.

The corresponding move for Helsley being activated was unfortunately optioning rookie Anthony Nunez back down to Triple-A. Nunez was a surprise inclusion on the opening day roster and was great for the Orioles in the month of April, and by the end of the month, he settled into the setup man role. Unfortunately, since the calendar flipped over to May, he's had a tough time.

Nunez has a 7.11 ERA since May 1st, so it's not shocking that he was the corresponding move, but it is disappointing considering how he looked to start the season. Nunez's stuff holds up at the majors. When he entered games, even as he was struggling, the individual pitches often looked good, but the issue was that he was walking too many batters and then hanging balls in the zone to get punished. Hopefully, he can use a triple-A reset to get locked back in and make the necessary adjustments so that he can help the Orioles bullpen later in the season.

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