Recent pitching injuries have Orioles heading back to the well with veteran starter

It's only been a couple days since pitchers and catchers reported to Sarasota but the Orioles are already dealing with a couple unforeseen injuries to a pair of their starters. It was reported last week that lefty Trevor Rogers suffered a dislocated kneecap back in January that's going to put a hold on his throwing program this spring.

And over the weekend, we learned that righty Chayce McDermott is dealing with what manager Brandon Hyde termed a lat/teres strain that's going to put his status for Opening Day into question. Both McDermott and Rogers told reporters that they're confident in their respective abilities to get back to the mound sooner than later, but that's more of a company line than any real progress update.

In what can easily be construed as a related announcement, the Orioles reported that they're planning on stretching out veteran right hander Albert Suarez and plan on using him as a starter during spring training.

The Orioles plan to use righty Albert Suarez as a starter during spring training

The righty shifted back and forth between the rotation and bullpen last year, making 24 starts and throwing in an additional 8 games out of the 'pen. Most of his relief outings came early in the year, before the Orioles had lost the majority of their rotation to elbow surgery. But Suarez was a force in both roles, pitching to a combined 3.70 ERA in 133.2 innings.

There were questions coming into camp about whether Suarez or righty Dean Kremer would get the first crack at the fifth starter role in Baltimore to start the year. They're similar pitchers, with Kremer being a slightly better strikeout asset and having a bit more experience at the major league level, despite being the younger of the two.

In addition to Suarez and Kremer, the Orioles will have righty Brandon Young and lefty Cade Povich in camp trying to earn the chance to pitch in Baltimore to start the year. Neither is expected to make the team out of spring, but Povich did debut in 2024 and Young had an excellent year as a starter at Triple-A Norfolk.

Neither Young nor Povich are likely to get the opportunity ahead of Suarez, however. The veteran earned the chance to be an impact arm on the Orioles' 2025 roster and barring a complete collapse or untimely injury during spring training, Suarez will play a big role for the O's this year.