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PHILADELPHIA – Keegan Akin is living, breathing baseball proof that you’re never too old to learn.
Akin turned 30 this year, and the second-round draft choice in 2016 is the longest-tenured Oriole after Ryan Mountcastle. He debuted in the 2020 COVID season, experienced his ups and downs and really became established last season with 66 appearances and a 3.32 ERA and 0.941 WHIP. He blended with his teammates, able to fill multiple roles as an extra left-hander in the bullpen. Nothing flashy, just a grinder who became more trustworthy in spots that weren’t filled by his higher-profile teammates.
That’s the way he liked it.
That isn’t how he’s operating past the trade deadline.
The Orioles became sellers and the bullpen was the hot spot, with Bryan Baker, Gregory Soto, Seranthony Domínguez and Andrew Kittredge traded in that order for four minor leaguers and a competitive balance pick. Akin couldn’t see clearly until the dust settled.
Interim manager Tony Mansolino is adapting as much as he possibly can with the front office making almost daily transactions that introduce a new reliever to the unit, and with closer Félix Bautista on the injured list. Rico Garcia, who made six appearances with the Orioles in 2022, will report Friday.
Akin worked the ninth inning in back-to-back games at Wrigley Field, earning his first save and taking the loss on Justin Turner’s pinch-hit, two-run homer. He was summoned in the ninth again yesterday at Citizens Bank Park and followed a one-out walk with a double play grounder to lower his ERA to 3.29 in a 5-1 win.
Remove the 10th inning of a June 30 game in Texas, and Akin hadn’t appeared that early since April 16 in a 9-1 win over the Guardians, when he retired the side in order in the ninth. He’s served as the opener and entered in relief as early as the fourth and fifth innings.
“Honestly, it’s a little bit of a learning experience for me,” he said. “I’m throwing in some sports that I haven’t really thrown in before, so I’m trying to learn how to figure that out and then balance being the veteran guy and helping all these young guys.”
That, too. Akin has a lot more on his plate while also throwing to it.
“There’s not a lot of time down there, not a lot of big league experience,” he said. “At this level it’s a little bit different. You’ve got an eight-man ‘pen. I don’t want to say there’s scheduled innings on there (in the minors), but it’s like, ‘Hey, you’re gonna throw on these next couple days,’ things like that.
“Up here, you know how it is. There’s no scheduled innings. You’ve got to be able to go as much as you can. So it’s just really using my knowledge from years past and try to pass it down to them. And also, learn this new back end role that I’ve kind of taken on. It’s a lot of learning right now on both sides of it.”
Akin hasn’t been called upon to lead but isn’t shying away from the responsibility. He can do it without being pushy and preachy.
“Not necessarily like, have to,” he said. “I mean, they’ve definitely got to learn. Everybody’s different. My process is completely different than all seven of them, so it’s more to be there for questions. ‘Hey, what do you think of this, what do you think of that’ type stuff. Anywhere from obviously your routine to, ‘How do you get this guy out,’ and things like that, just from my experiences.
“So yeah, it’s kind of a lot on me right now, but whatever. That’s fine.”
Yennier Cano was an All-Star in 2023 and can assist Akin, though he was optioned earlier this season and has a 5.26 ERA in 45 games. A decline in production shouldn’t lessen the impact of his words.
Yaramil Hiraldo made his major league debut this season, entered in a big spot Monday night and surrendered Kyle Schwarber’s grand slam in an eight-run sixth inning.
Corbin Martin has made nine appearances with the Orioles this season, two more than his previous high with the Diamondbacks in 2022 – his last year in the majors before coming to Baltimore. He recorded his first save this season but didn’t retire any of the six batters faced Monday. Elvin Rodríguez made his Orioles debut and 15th major league appearance Monday and served up two home runs in the eighth, and he’s expected to be optioned to make room for Garcia.
Kade Strowd has appeared in his first seven major league games this season and allowed only two runs in 9 1/3, but Grant Wolfram’s first 11 have produced a 7.82 ERA and 2.053 WHIP. Dietrich Enns, obtained from the Tigers at the deadline in a cash transaction, made his 19th major league appearance and first with his new team Sunday and allowed one run and five hits in 1 2/3.
Enns, whose pitched in Korea and Japan, replaced Trevor Rogers yesterday in the seventh inning and stranded Trea Turner after a leadoff double by striking out Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos. He retired the side in order in the eighth and struck out two more.
“First and foremost, he’s a guy that’s been through it,” Mansolino said.
“He has a slow heartbeat. He has good stuff, better stuff than we thought when he showed up. In terms of how you use him, everybody saw how lefties got used against us the last couple of years in the playoffs, how Texas used their lefties, Kansas City used their lefties. These kind of bulk-inning lefties, how they rolled right through us. Watching Dietrich and how he kind of navigated two innings, kind of reminiscent of what teams have deployed against us, and it worked out today. Hopefully it works out in the future.”
Houston Roth spent six days with the Orioles and was optioned before he could enjoy his major league debut. He might return later. The revolving door isn’t locked.
“It’s interesting just trying to learn these new guys as quick as we possibly can, but also having them kind of learn how we operate, roles that they might fit into, pockets of the lineup, different stuff like that,” said assistant pitching coach Mitch Plassmeyer, who became interim bullpen coach after the Orioles dismissed Tim Cossins. “It’s a lot of back and forth up front, but it’s been good because these guys have been so open. We’ve had a lot of great guys come through here churning in and out, but it’s been great to kind of learn what they like, what maybe we can do to help them.”
The Orioles are running short on proven high-leverage relievers, but they don’t have the luxury of playing it safe. They can’t hide the more vulnerable members of the pack.
“Those guys are gonna be in situations they’ve never been in before, but it’s good to learn how they respond to it, for good or for bad,” Plassmeye said. “When they have success, how do they respond and try to keep it going and when they fail, how do they respond to that, and kind of pivot and try to learn from those experiences. I think it’s really good for these young guys to be able to experience maybe both ends of the spectrum in an opportunity they maybe wouldn’t get otherwise. I think it’s more exciting to see what these young guys are made of as they continue to learn the league and go through those challenges.”
They always can lean on the few remaining holdovers.
“I think the main guys like Akin and Cano are the two most tenured guys, steady guys we’ve had in the bullpen,” Plassmeyer said. “And I think it’s great Akin can be that guy who’s been here a long time, seen the ups and downs, knows how to navigate that, maybe the darker days and the success here. He’s seen it. So he gives some great perspective. And Cano being the veteran Latin presence kind of helping some of those young guys when they come up, but also he's had a ton of success. He’s been an All-Star. He’s always willing to help guys, and I really appreciate the way he goes about his business, too.
“Both of those guys do a great job of giving information and answering questions and kind of speaking up when they need to.”
