This once-reliable Orioles lefty is pitching his way out of a job

The Orioles struggled through their slate of games this week, losing three of their last five while giving up 25 runs in the process. Some of that is bad luck, of course. Dean Kremer in particular got the short end of the stick with a couple poor defensive plays during Friday night's matchup in Kansas City. But even with the losses this week, the bullpen overall has been a strength for Baltimore.

However, there's one guy who's not contributing to the Orioles success this year. It's a bit surprising given some of his past successes, but lefty Cionel Perez has looked terrible in his first four outings. Combined, Perez has given up 8 runs, all of them earned, in just 3.2 innings worth of work. He's struck out just 2 of the 25 batters he's faced, and he's walked 6.

Perez has never been a big strikeout guy. His 19.3% K-rate last year was well below the league average mark of 22.6%, and he's typically had success by limiting hard contact and posting high ground ball rates. That hasn't happened so far in 2025.

Orioles' lefty Cionel Perez needs to turn his season around quickly if he wants to stay in Baltimore

It's obviously a small sample size but Perez's 47.6% ground ball rate would be far and away the worst mark of his career. For whatever reason, batters have been seeing him well and taking advantage of Perez's mistakes.

As it stands, Perez is the third lefty in the Orioles bullpen behind Keegan Akin and Gregory Soto. If Perez keeps pitching this poorly, it won't be long before the O's are forced to think about his future with the organization. Perez is 29 and out of options, and while there isn't anyone immediately knocking down the door, there are a few guys we should expect to see in Baltimore before long.

Andrew Kittredge won't return until May but he'll need a spot when he's healthy. Albert Suarez is a major question mark with his shoulder inflammation but Chayce McDermott should be back before long after dealing with a lat injury during spring, and it's possible the Orioles shift him to the bullpen if they call him up. The O's also have Kade Strowd and Luis Gonzalez down in Norfolk, both of whom have looked good in limited time.

While it's not immediately clear who the next guy up will be, it's certainly possible that the Orioles want to keep Matt Bowman and Bryan Baker up in Baltimore because they've both been pitching well enough to earn their spots. Assuming that's the case, Perez is the most logical piece to bump out. The lefty has had some good stretches during his three years with the Orioles but if he can't get things turned around quickly, there's a good chance he's out of the organization sooner than later.