Collapsing bullpen could be the story of the Orioles 2024 season

The Orioles have a number of problems right now. They have a dozen valuable contributors currently on the IL, the offense has ceased hitting with runners in scoring position, and they're slipping away in the AL East, dropping 4 of their last 6 games against middling competition.

However, one of the primary reasons the Orioles haven't been able to keep pace in the second half is the collapse of the bullpen. Since the All-Star break, the O's bullpen has a 4.55 ERA, good for 8th worst in the majors.

Six of the ten regular contributors have an ERA above 4.00 since the break and the group as a whole is getting crushed, allowing a bottom-six hard hit rate against in the past two months.

The entire Orioles bullpen is failing in the second half

Earlier in the year, we thought we might be getting the best version of Craig Kimbrel but that idea has been flipped on its head. In the second half, Kimbrel has been atrocious, pitching to a 7.71 ERA in 16.1 innings while losing his grasp on the closer's role.

His replacement Seranthony Dominguez has been fine, if a bit lucky. His 2.76 second half ERA isn't at all supported by a 5.32 FIP in that same timespan. Dominguez is playing with fire, as we can see by the extreme strand rate and batted ball luck.

The bright spots include Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin, neither of whom have gotten significant time in high-leverage spots. Matt Bowman has been good as well, though his results have come in such a small sample that it's tough to feel encouraged about his future performance.

Outside of those three it's been difficult to watch. Since the break, Kimbrel's 7.71 ERA is worst of the group but he's followed closely by Cole Irvin's mark of 7.20. Gregory Soto has had some nice outings but he's pitched to a 6.94 ERA in the second half.

Burch Smith is a DFA candidate if we've ever seen one. An ERA of 5.13 on the year, worsened by a 6.56 mark since the break, makes you wonder why he's still in an Orioles uniform.

Even Cionel Perez is at a 4.50 ERA and walking the world since the O's came back from the break. Perez was viewed as one of the top left-handed options in the Orioles bullpen but he's put those thoughts to bed with his poor performance all year.

If the Orioles want to win baseball games in October, they need a reliable bullpen. It's possible that a few guys in this group get hot at the right time. But with the way things have been going, there's just no confidence that this group will be good enough to get the job done.

When push comes to shove, this is essentially the group that the Orioles have. There's no longer time to tinker and make meaningful additions ahead of the postseason and there aren't a ton of exciting options in the pipeline ready to go. We're just three weeks away from the end of September and the O's will have to make due with what they've got.

The offense might hold them back in October but if the bullpen can't pull things together in short order, the Orioles might be heading home a lot sooner than anyone had hoped.