O's ready to slot Bradish's next start in the bigs

BALTIMORE -- It’s been only 11 days since Kyle Bradish made his first rehab start in his recovery from a right UCL sprain. However, the Orioles have decided the 27-year-old right-hander is ready to return after three Minor League outings.

Manager Brandon Hyde announced Saturday that Bradish’s next start will come for Baltimore, although it has not yet been determined when he’ll take the mound. Bradish tossed five innings of one-run ball for Triple-A Norfolk vs. Gwinnett on Friday night.

“He threw the ball really well last night, and our medical team talked to him this morning -- our pitching guys as well -- and he feels great,” Hyde said. “We’re just looking right now when to slot him in, but he’s going to be with us soon.”

The Orioles have not announced their probable starters beyond Sunday, when Albert Suárez will pitch the series finale vs. the A’s. After that, the American League East rival Yankees come to Camden Yards for a four-game set that begins Monday.

It seems likely that Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer and Corbin Burnes would start the first three games of the series vs. New York to keep each of the three righties on turn. That could line up Bradish to start Thursday afternoon’s finale on five days of rest.

Bradish began his rehab assignment on April 16, five days later than scheduled. He was supposed to start for High-A Aberdeen on April 11, but inclement weather caused him to throw live batting practice that day instead.

On April 16, Bradish threw three scoreless innings for Double-A Bowie vs. Altoona. He then moved up to Triple-A, allowing four runs over 3 1/3 innings for Norfolk on April 21 at Jacksonville.

Bradish’s workload steadily increased, and on Friday, he threw 77 pitches during an outing in which he allowed five hits, walked one and struck out six.

Minor League rehab assignments can last up to 30 days, but the O’s didn’t see a reason to keep Bradish down on the farm any longer.

“It’s just part of his progression, honestly, where he got to an innings spot, and the amount of pitches he threw, where we feel like he’s ready,” Hyde said. “Kyle was one of the best pitchers in the league last year, and we’re excited to have him back.”

Bradish finished fourth in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2023, when he recorded a 2.83 ERA and 168 strikeouts in 168 2/3 innings over 30 starts. He was expected to form a potent 1-2 punch with Burnes atop the rotation to begin ‘24, but Bradish sustained a right UCL sprain in January and then received a platelet-rich plasma injection in February.

Now, Baltimore’s staff is getting closer to full strength. Left-hander John Means (left forearm strain) is scheduled to make his sixth (and likely final) rehab start for Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday vs. Gwinnett. The 31-year-old could then rejoin the Orioles as soon as next weekend during their three-game series at Cincinnati.

The imminent returns of Bradish and Means could bump left-hander Cole Irvin and Suárez from the rotation. However, Irvin recently had his longest start as an Oriole (seven scoreless frames against Oakland on Saturday), and Suárez has pitched 11 1/3 scoreless innings over his first two starts for the team. So the O’s may have tough decisions to make.

Would Baltimore consider expanding beyond a five-man rotation?

“No, I think everything’s up on the table right now. The way pitching is right now, it’s so day to day,” Hyde said. “We’ll just wait to see what happens.”

The Orioles hope they’ll have seven healthy quality starters to choose from -- and then eight once right-hander Tyler Wells returns from right elbow inflammation.

“A decision about having too much pitching?” general manager Mike Elias said on Friday. “Yeah, I’ll take that.”