Orioles make surprise roster move to help taxed bullpen, recall former Yankees righty

Earlier in the week, Brandon Hyde told reporters that he didn't want to run out a bullpen game during Saturday's affair with the Reds. That preference led to the Orioles calling up righty Brandon Young, who made his MLB debut yesterday at Camden Yards.

Young looked alright but got hit around a bit, and made it through just 4 innings. He allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, while striking out three. Unfortunately, it took Young 81 pitches to make it that far and because MLB teams treat pitchers like children, Hyde pulled the rookie after the 4th.

The O's then went on to use 7 other relievers to get through the final 5 innings of Saturday's game. Only Bryan Baker threw more than 20 pitches, and nobody in the group went out for more than an inning. In fact, three of them - Keegan Akin, Gregory Soto, and Matt Bowman - managed to get a combined three outs.

That's left the Orioles in a precarious spot heading into Sunday's finale. With nearly all of the bullpen now having thrown yesterday, and Cionel Perez having thrown two innings the day before, the O's will be short in the back end on Sunday. That's a bit risky given how erratic Charlie Morton has been this year.

To address that issue, the Orioles have optioned Brandon Young back to Triple-A Norfolk and recalled righty Cody Poteet, who could provide some length out of the bullpen this afternoon.

Orioles option righty Brandon Young to Norfolk, recall righty Cody Poteet ahead of Sunday's game

Poteet was acquired in late March, as the O's sent cash considerations to the Cubs in exchange for him. The righty has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen so far after being primarily used as a starter to this point in his career. He's thrown 8.0 innings across 4 games and has not looked good, having allowed 10 runs, all of them earned, while giving up 4 walks and striking out 12.

That strikeout rate is likely what the O's are hanging their hats on. The Yankees were able to pull some extra life out of Poteet's fastball during his time there before sending him to Chicago in the Cody Bellinger trade. The O's will look to continue that pitching development and hopefully get some useful innings out of him in the near future.

Despite being optioned, Young is still a candidate to return to Baltimore in short order. With Zach Eflin still on the shelf and Grayson Rodriguez now seeking second opinions in regard to a shoulder injury, Young could play a much bigger role than expected for the Orioles this year. Expect him to remain in the conversation for spot starts over the next month.