SARASOTA – The Orioles can go in a couple of different bullpen directions and have plenty of camp time left to make their decision.

Ryan Helsley is the closer and he’s doing a slow ramp-up with Friday’s live batting practice session on a back field. Andrew Kittredge was reacquired in a trade with the Cubs and had his $9 million option exercised. It should … wait for it … work out.

Keegan Akin is a valuable left-hander who lost his arbitration hearing and is being paid $2.975 million. Dietrich Enns provides a second southpaw after signing for $2.625 million with a club option for 2027. Yennier Cano was an All-Star in 2023, a mild disappointment in ’24 and a real concern in ’25, leading the club to option him. The Orioles have the flexibility to do it again but are expected to bring him north.

His stuff really impressed in live BP and again yesterday with his scoreless inning and two strikeouts. The slider and sinker are working.

Tyler Wells seems destined for the ‘pen again unless injuries hit the rotation, too. Or if the Orioles go with a six-man rotation and Zach Eflin begins the season on the injured list. That would line up Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Shane Baz, Chris Bassitt, Dean Kremer and Wells.

I’m still saying Wells is likely to work in relief. He sure looked good doing it again yesterday.

“Tyler came out and threw great,” said manager Craig Albernaz. “We all know his changeup is a really good pitch, but the way he attacked the zone, it’s kind of like the story of the day for us. The way Tyler came out and threw the ball was really encouraging.”

I’ve still got non-roster invite Albert Suárez on the team to serve in long relief.

This scenario leaves room for one more reliever among a group that includes Grant Wolfram, Rico Garcia, Yaramil Hiraldo, Jackson Kowar, Chayce McDermott, Anthony Nunez, Cameron Foster and Jose Espada. Félix Bautista and Colin Selby are on the 60-day injured list.

Cade Povich and Brandon Young could return to Triple-A Norfolk’s rotation. Albernaz said the club is discussing their roles.

Also keep in mind that president of baseball operations Mike Elias could bring in another reliever.

Wolfram would have an edge if the Orioles preferred a third left-hander. Asked about it yesterday, Albernaz replied with “the best eight.”

“I think having multiple lefties is very intriguing,” he said, but added that the pitching coaches are more interested in making their guys “matchup proof, so righties can get out lefties and lefties can get out righties.”

Wolfram made his major league debut last summer at age 28 and posted a 5.40 ERA and 1.875 WHIP in 21 appearances. He struck out 31 batters and surrendered only two home runs in 26 2/3 innings, but he also walked 15. The Michigan native allowed only two earned runs over a span of 13 appearances until giving up four over his last two outings in Toronto and New York.

Left-handers hit .313 with a .768 OPS against Wolfram. They’ve hit .333 with a .928 OPS against Enns and .244 with a .668 OPS against Akin in their careers. None are the traditional lockdown lefties against left-handed batters.

Enns had a nightmarish inning yesterday beneath a blue sky, allowing six runs and four hits with two walks and two home runs in one-third of an inning. But it’s early.

“His stuff looked great,” Albernaz said. “He was just a little quicker than usual down the mound, which is completely understandable.

Akin walked a batter Friday and struck out two in his scoreless inning.

“Getting back into it again,” he said. “Good to knock the dust off a little bit and get back into competition.”

Wolfram struck out the side in the fifth with his sweeper and curveball (twice). The sinker reached 95.9 mph.

“I was just kind of mixing them both in against righties and see how it went,” Wolfram said. “It was a good result, so I was happy with it.”

“Wolfram, that was outstanding. And all of our pitchers were great,” Albernaz said.

“They pounded the strike zone. It was 13 Ks, two walks. That’s what we want. We preach winning the line of scrimmage and that’s what they did. So hopefully we can keep that going all through camp.”

Wolfram needs to if he stands a chance of heading north.

“I feel good,” he said. “Everyone here since I got traded over here last year, since the moment I got in the org, everyone’s treated me great. I’ve learned a lot. They’ve helped me continue to develop and get better. Each month, each outing, I continued to learn and grow as a pitcher.

“I think the big thing for me, that me, Frenchy (Drew French) and Plass (Mitch Plassmeyer) have all talked about is just come up with a good plan and not swing from that plan and just trust that my stuff is good enough to get outs. So that’s what I’m gonna try to do for the rest of camp.”

Akin is a lock in his seventh season with the Orioles after they made him a second-round pick in the 2016 draft out of Western Michigan University. He became a part-time closer last summer for the first time in his career, recording eight saves, but should settle back into his usual role that can include multiple innings at any point in a game.

“Obviously with the circumstances last year, getting rid of four or five bullpen arms, I knew that’s probably where I was gonna fit in was toward the back end,” he said. “I don’t really have a preference, to be honest with you. It’s just about winning at this point to me. I went through the gauntlet the first couple years here, so I’m at the point in my career where I just want to win. That’s all that matters. And wherever I can fit in to help do that is where I’m gonna fit in.

“You can’t say it was a bad experience by any means, whether it was a good result or a bad result. To have that experience under my belt a little bit and know what it feels like to throw in the back end of the game is pretty exciting for sure, but I knew it was temporary, and new year. Here we are.”

Akin went through his first arbitration hearing, which he attended, and seems to have easily moved on from it.

“It was different,” he said. “You hear good stories, you hear bad stories. It is what it is. It’s the business side of baseball and it’s behind us. Ready to take on the ’26 season.”

A thinning hairline was more than Akin could stand. He finally gave up and shaved his head around the Thanksgiving holiday.

“I just woke up one day, brushing my teeth, I must have caught the wrong angle and I was like, ‘OK, I’m done. I’m sick of it. It’s gone,’” he said. “I looked up and I was like, ‘God, my wife didn’t want to tell me it was this bad?’ So I said, ‘I’m going with it bald.’”