masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgWith a month remaining before pitchers and catchers report to spring training, there’s still plenty of time for new storylines to develop and for me to rank them according to importance or interest.
Kevin Gausman will be on my list, no matter how it’s framed.
Specifically, I wonder whether Gausman will make the rotation, be moved to a crowded bullpen or again pay the price for having a minor league option.
Executive vice president Dan Duquette seemed to indicate at the Winter Meetings that…

With a month remaining before pitchers and catchers report to spring training, there’s still plenty of time for new storylines to develop and for me to rank them according to importance or interest.

Kevin Gausman will be on my list, no matter how it’s framed.

Specifically, I wonder whether Gausman will make the rotation, be moved to a crowded bullpen or again pay the price for having a minor league option.

Executive vice president Dan Duquette seemed to indicate at the Winter Meetings that Gausman would be used as a starter, but it’s too soon to etch it in stone.

gausman-pitching-gray-glasses.jpg“Gausman is good,” Duquette said. “If you look at his peripherals, it looks like he’s ready to have a breakout season as a starting pitcher. Low walks, high strikeouts, keeps the ball in the ballpark. He looks pretty good. His innings limit has been extended each year. He’s right on schedule to have a good year.”

The Orioles are scheduled to bring six starting candidates to spring training, including Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris, Miguel Gonzalez and Ubaldo Jimenez. They’d move Jimenez, especially for a left-handed hitting outfielder, if a team would take on the remaining $38.75 million on his contract.

Gausman made 15 relief appearances in 2013, but none last season before the playoffs. He went 7-7 with a 3.57 ERA and 1.315 WHIP in 20 starts.

Finding room for anyone in the bullpen will be tricky, and the presence in camp of Rule 5 pitchers Jason Garcia and Logan Verrett further complicates the situation. There’s no way that the Orioles can keep both of them, no matter how tempting, but it’s always possible that they hold onto one.

T.J. McFarland is a strong candidate to begin the season in Triple-A Norfolk’s rotation, as he did last year, but the group of Orioles relievers still includes Zach Britton, Darren O’Day, Tommy Hunter, Brian Matusz, Wesley Wright, Brad Brach, Ryan Webb and potentially one Rule 5 pitcher. It’s pretty hard to include Gausman, 24, or another starter.

I’d like for the Orioles to remove Gausman from the Triple-A shuttle despite the flexibility that he affords manager Buck Showalter. He had six stints with the club last season: May 14-15, June 6-20, June 27, July 6-7, July 12-Aug. 27, and Sept. 1 until the end. The benefit of his 11 starts with the Tides is they allowed the Orioles to better control his innings and keep him available through September.

Gausman worked 113 1/3 innings with the Orioles and 45 1/3 in the minors, including two at short-season Single-A Aberdeen, for a total of 158 2/3. The Orioles may not be ready to put 200 innings on his right arm.

Sounds like a good question for FanFest.

Gausman allowed three earned runs or fewer in 16 of his 20 starts last season and registered nine quality starts. His 3.18 ERA in nine road starts was the second-lowest among American League rookies with a minimum of eight starts.

Gausman’s streak of three consecutive starts with at least seven innings and seven strikeouts was the longest by an Oriole since Erik Bedard in August 2007.

I want to see him get the ball every five days with the Orioles. It just may not be possible at the start of the season.

Let’s see how it plays out in spring training. It’s on my list.