Orioles’ Cade Povich plan after promotion hints at Kyle Bradish worries

Cade Povich will get the ball for the Baltimore Orioles series finale in Toronto on Thursday. The Orioles had originally brought Povich on the trip to the Great White North as a member of the taxi squad, but will now activate the left-hander ahead of Baltimore's game against their AL East rival.

Povich was traded to the O's at the trade deadline in 2022. Rather than making additions at a time when the Orioles fanbase had postseason aspirations, Baltimore dealt then-closer Jorge Lopez to the Minnesota Twins in a rather unpopular move. Seeing as how Orioles top reliever Yennier Cano was also part of that deal, that trade now seems like a resounding win for Baltimore.

But while O's fans are excited to see Povich make his MLB debut, there are now concerns about the future of Baltimore starting rotation. Why? Because Orioles manager Brandon Hyde refused to comment about the Kyle Bradish's next start. That's not a good sign.

Orioles’ Cade Povich plan after promotion hints at rotation worries

Now this could be just a managerial strategy on the part of Hyde — not wanting to offer his opponent any inside information. But the fact that Povich was on the taxi squad prior to his call-up hints that something bigger might be at play.

Is Bradish nursing an injury? Maybe. Are the Orioles just trying to offer Bradish extra rest after his 103-pitch performance against the Chicago White Sox on May 26th? That's also possible.

So, that's TBAs for everyone, or just when Bradish is supposed to appear?

After those seven shutout innings two weeks ago at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Bradish turned around and had his worst performance of the season. The 27-year-old couldn't even get through three innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 1st. Bradish allowed five runs on seven hits while walking three batters and was lifted after just 76 pitches.

Hyde is not looking to set his rotation too far in advance. In fact, the O's skipper said that many of the team's starting pitchers will be listed as TBA (to be announced) during the month of June. That, coupled with the recent injury news surrounding both John Means and Tyler Wells is rather concerning.

Are the Orioles being overly cautious after both Means and Wells landed on the 60-day IL with elbow injuries? Is Baltimore's front office evaluating their rotation needs ahead of the upcoming MLB trade deadline? There are a number of unanswered questions at the moment that will likely become clearer as the O's matriculate their way through the month of June.

So while O's fans are excited to see Povich toe the rubber for his big league debut on Thursday, there's also a bit of confusion and trepidation in the air as well.

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