OAKLAND – Former Orioles manager Buck Showalter used to warn that he didn’t want to hear about a problem unless you had a solution. The first part is easy. Don’t point it out and offer nothing more than the obvious.

The bullpen over the course of the entire 2024 season hasn’t qualified as a major issue, but losing left-hander Danny Coulombe increased the urgency to make at least one trade.

Craig Kimbrel burst past his slump and has allowed only one earned run in his last 21 innings. Save after save after save, some less dramatic than others. And he's an absolute All-Star snub.

Yennier Cano is a weapon on most nights but doesn’t seem quite like the All-Star model from 2023. No one was beating that drum this month, but he struck out two batters yesterday in a scoreless eighth and has a 2.89 ERA.

I think most teams would take that.

OAKLAND – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde grew up in Santa Rosa, about an hour away from the Oakland Coliseum. He attended games with his father and friends, recounting those days as some of his fondest memories. Rickey Henderson stole bases at a record pace. Dennis Eckersley closed out games. The Bash Brothers hit tape-measure home runs and slammed their suspiciously massive forearms in celebration.

“There was some really good baseball being played here for a long time,” Hyde said, “and some great, great teams that played here.”

Not anymore.

The last-place Athletics are moving to Las Vegas but will relocate to Sacramento for the next three seasons until their new home is ready. The Orioles are making their final stop here. They might get a little sentimental during batting practice, but that’s it.

They’d like to put a bow on a sweep and offer it as a going-away present.

SEATTLE – Danny Coulombe hasn’t thrown a pitch for the Orioles since June 8. He faced six batters at Tropicana Field, retired all of them and struck out the side in the eighth inning. Five straight scoreless appearances lowered his ERA to 2.42.

Talk of a possible berth in the All-Star Game sounded legit.

Out of the many losses to the roster due to injuries and surgeries, Coulombe’s stings as much as any. It isn’t a knockout punch, but it can stagger a team.

Rather than feel around for the mouthpiece on hands and knees, manager Brandon Hyde keeps hunting for ways to compensate in close games.

Bring up Coulombe’s name to people in the industry, as I did again over the weekend, and they tend to cringe, shake or tilt back their heads and convey just how badly it hurts the club. As if Coulombe is the one guy who has a lower profile but a higher impact because of the clutch outs he gets – and doing it more than every fifth or sixth day.

The Orioles bullpen has to try to do it again. Continue with the next man up philosophy even as they lose another key member. Lefty Danny Coulombe with a 2.42 ERA in 29 games, went on the 15-day injured list before Tuesday’s game with left elbow inflammation.

The bullpen has been pitching all year without 2023 closer Félix Bautista, an All-Star and went through a stretch earlier this year when others, like current closer Craig Kimbrel, struggled.

The beat goes on and the recording of outs must go on.

It’s a Baltimore bullpen that began play last night with a 3.24 ERA that ranked third-best in the American League and fourth in the majors.

A bullpen that hit a speed bump in the eighth last night when Atlanta's Matt Olson hit a two-run shot off Keegan Akin. It tied the game 2-2 and ended the O's 23-innings scoreless run on the mound. But when Colton Cowser hit a two-run shot in the home eighth they had the lead again. The O's 4-2 win was their season-high sixth in a row.

TORONTO – The O's came into Wednesday night looking for their third straight win in Toronto, and a series-clinching win. The script was set just for that, as they took an early 2-0 lead, but the offense fell flat after the second inning and the Blue Jays walked off the O's to win 3-2 in front of 27,929 at Rogers Centre.

The Orioles fall to 39-21 with their third walkoff defeat of the year after two very early on April 6 and 7 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tonight's walk-off was aided by a miscue in the field.

Justin Turner led off the ninth against O's closer Craig Kimbrel with his third hit of the night, a single on an 0-2 pitch and was replaced by pinch-runner Cavan Biggio.  

The miscue followed shortly after. Kimbrel tried to pick off Biggio, but his throw went off his body and into right field, allowing Biggio to get into scoring position. Then he moved to third, advancing on an Alejandro Kirk fly-out. 

Runner on third, one out, and now the winning run was 90 feet away as the infield came in. Kimbrel then faced the contact-oriented Isiah Kiner-Falefa. 

ST. LOUIS – The Orioles, even as visitors, took the field first today at Busch Stadium. They batted second. Their pitcher to start the day was reliever Jacob Webb.

It was not a usual day or game.

This was the resumption of last night’s suspended game in the last of the sixth with the game tied 1-1.

The Orioles have not had a lead in this series, and four batters after play resumed they were behind again today. Their only hit after play resumed was Ryan Mountcastle's single in the seventh, which snapped a 1-for-26 run. 

Second baseman Nolan Gorman’s two-run homer to right in the last of the sixth off lefty Keegan Akin – a left-on-left home run – gave St. Louis a 3-1 lead. The Cards beat the Orioles by that same score. The official attendance from the game that began last night, with many fewer here today, was 32,582.

WASHINGTON – Kyle Bradish backed up home plate in the second inning and glanced at his glove, as if checking whether a hole had gone undetected.

That isn't where the leak would spring later in the night.

Trey Lipscomb’s one-hopper made it past Bradish, who reached across his body and rested the glove on his right shoulder as the ball bounced into center field for a run-scoring single.

The Orioles were behind again in D.C. Bradish finished the inning at 44 pitches, stranding two runners by fielding Jacob Young’s high chopper and striking out CJ Abrams. But he’d need to become more economical to get deep in his second start since his reinstatement from the injured list, and the Orioles would need a rally to avoid their first series sweep in the regular season since May 2022.

Anthony Santander hit a game-tying home run in the fourth inning and Gunnar Henderson provided a lead leading off the sixth. Bradish struck out nine batters in five frames and became the pitcher of record. It was setting up ideally until closing again became a major issue.

He may have stumbled during the 2023 playoffs, but in 41 regular season games since the club acquired him last Aug. 7 heading into last night, right-handed reliever Jacob Webb has a 2.70 ERA, 1.036 WHIP and 10.1 K rate.

This year, in 17 games counting last night, he has an ERA of 1.76 with five walks to 19 strikeouts over 15 1/3 innings. Opponent batters have hit just .176 off him and lefty batters are just 1-for-19.

In the Yankees series, he fanned Aaron Judge in big spots in two separate games and fanned six in two games over just 2 2/3 innings. He was dominant at times.

While Webb said his changeup has been really good this year, another factor in his success is pitching with a lot of emotion. The fire burns within and the pitches move more, find their spots more and get more swings and misses it seems when passion is also part of his outings.

“Every time I go out to pitch, I try to create that emotion and that feeling,” Webb told me recently. “But I feel like some (games) are bigger than others, certain situations. I would just say I try to lock in like that every time and get myself pumped up as much as I can.

Just as the Orioles drew it up when this series began Monday night at Camden Yards.

OK, probably not. Even though they lost a starter in Grayson Rodriguez to injury during the Yankees series and now we know that Craig Kimbrel didn’t pitch once in the series, they would still shutdown a Yankees team that had scored 15 runs each on Saturday and Sunday at Milwaukee.

Oh, and Jorge Mateo and Ryan McKenna would hit big homers off lefty Carlos Rodón in the key series finale game. And Danny Coulombe and Jacob Webb would record saves.

Yep, just as planned.

Sometimes it takes a village to win a key series or at least it takes an entire clubhouse. And the O’s got big contributions from many this series as they took three of four from the Yankees to gain the AL East lead by one game.

A lot can change in a span of a few days for bullpen pitchers. It has for the Orioles bullpen.

Heading into the Yankees series, the O’s ‘pen was coming off a weekend with two blown leads in the ninth. And that ‘pen had been scored on in 13 of the previous 16 games, pitching to an ERA of 5.37 in that span.

Then Cionel Pérez, Yennier Cano and Danny Coulombe combined for 3 1/3 scoreless to close out Monday’s 2-0 win over New York. And Keegan Akin and Jacob Webb combined for two scoreless in last night’s 4-2 victory.

Webb got his first save with the Orioles, getting four outs, three via a strikeout, on three different pitches Tuesday night.

He ended the eighth fanning Aaron Judge on a changeup and began the ninth with strikeouts of Giancarlo Stanton on a sweeper and of Anthony Rizzo looking at a 95 mph fastball. He got a groundout to end the game.

The Orioles have gotten plenty of attention for their homer prowess. They began play last night leading the majors in homers and in homers per game. They had hit at least one homer in 21 of their 28 games and went 15-6 in those.

But in this series with the New York Yankees, the Baltimore pitching has led the way to wins by 2-0 and 4-2.

The O’s staff saw a pair of ninth-inning leads get away over the weekend versus Oakland. But the last two nights, lefty Danny Coulombe picked up his third career save and last night right-hander Jacob Webb fanned three in getting the last four outs to record his fifth career save.

Webb’s five career saves have come for three different clubs, with three for Atlanta and one each for the Angels and Orioles. His last before last night was June 15, 2023 for the Angels at Texas.

Against the Yankees Webb got seven whiffs on nine swings. That was big-time swing and miss stuff in that outing and now, over 13 1/3 innings he has a 2.03 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and .191 batting average against.

The Orioles broke camp with their bullpen apparently set, but they made a late change this afternoon.

Nick Vespi has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk, giving the club a fourth left-hander, and Jacob Webb went on the paternity list. Webb can be gone for three days.

The 40-man roster is down to 38 players with outfielder Ryan McKenna and infielder/outfielder Tyler Nevin designated for assignment.

Kyle Bradish (right UCL sprain) and John Means (left forearm strain) are on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Monday.

Catcher Michael Pérez is on the taxi squad.

In the history of memorable Opening Days for the Orioles, having new ownership introduced is bound to surpass the snow storm of 2003.

The Angels are playing the Orioles, but also second-fiddle to the excitement generated by David Rubenstein’s purchase of the team and assuming the role of control person.

Cal Ripken Jr. will catch the ceremonial first pitch from Aubree Singletary, a fourth-grade student at Harlem Park Elementary/Middle School and the child of a Baltimore City postal worker. This is an ode to Rubenstein, who’s father held the same job.

Representatives of the new ownership group, including Rubenstein, Michael Arougheti, Mitchell Goldstein and Michael Smith, will yell “play ball” to start the game.

The baseball torch will be passed and the ballpark is gonna be lit. No amount of rain can douse it.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Orioles reliever Jacob Webb earned his first win about seven weeks before Opening Day.

Webb was victorious in his arbitration hearing in Arizona, setting his 2024 salary at $1 million instead of the $925,000 filed by the club.

No hard feelings on either side. From Webb for having to go through the process or the Orioles for paying the extra $75,000.

“It was just business,” he said. “Just worrying about stuff I can control on the field. All that stuff, I let my agents take care of that side. I like to just focus on what I’m doing here and making sure I’m ready to go.

“You kind of have to be there for the hearing, and it was an interesting process. It was good to get a little win right there, but either way, I know the team’s not trying to do anything harmful or anything. I think it’s just part of the business and how it goes.”

I’ve written about the end of a traditional spring training storyline, the blame falling upon the broad shoulders of James McCann. Only an injury can spark a debate over the identity of the backup catcher.

It’s happening again with the Opening Day starter.

The Orioles didn’t trade for Corbin Burnes to put him behind someone else in the rotation. The announcement is a formality. Manager Brandon Hyde will be asked about it multiple times in camp, probably in a joking manner. Or for planning purposes, allowing beat writers to launch their stories.

Kyle Gibson wasn’t the immediate choice last winter, but he morphed into the favorite in Sarasota based on his experience, impressive results and the lack of an obvious alternative. If not him, whom?

John Means was handed the ball in back-to-back seasons, after losing the assignment to Tommy Milone in 2020 – yes, Tommy Milone – due to a “tired arm.”

Danny Coulombe and Jacob Webb, two Orioles relievers who project to make the Opening Day roster but with different odds, have slightly dissimilar approaches in the offseason to attacking their perceived weaknesses.

Both pitchers are doing less mechanical tweaking and more mental adjusting, but with goals that don’t exactly match up.

Coulombe appears to be a lock to break camp with the team as one of three or four left-handers in the bullpen. Cionel Pérez, DL Hall and Cole Irvin also are front and center in the discussion, with Bruce Zimmermann and Nick Vespi trying to crash the southpaw party.

An opening still exists in the rotation, which obviously could impact the bullpen’s composition. But it won’t touch Coulombe, who posted a 2.81 ERA and 1.110 WHIP in 61 appearances after the Orioles acquired him from the Twins toward the end of spring training.

“I was really happy with it,” he said at the Birdland Caravan. “I’m a perfectionist, so there’s things I know I can get better at, but I was really happy with the way it went. I really enjoyed the role and I’m excited to get it rolling again.”

On the first day of Birdland Caravan, where reporters got the chance to interview some players and coaches at the Warehouse, lefty John Means pronounced himself healthy and ready to take on a full season innings load in 2024.

Means returned from Tommy John surgery to get back on a big league mound on Sept. 12 and went 1-2 with a 2.66 ERA in four starts down the stretch. He pitched a huge game Sept. 23 at Cleveland allowing one hit and run over 7 1/3 innings. But he missed the AL Division Series when his surgically repaired left elbow became sore leading up to the series with Texas.

“It was just tight (then), and they looked at the MRI and they told me to take a break on it. Build up in the offseason and be ready to go. I feel really good, really good (now). Had a nice build up this offseason and should be ready to go.”

After throwing 45 1/3 innings in 2023 counting minor league rehab games, can he take on a full-season innings load this season?

“Yeah, I’m ready to go. I’ll be ready,” Means said.

I shared some predictions a week ago and set aside topics that I wasn’t ready to touch.

Let’s do this again with a few more, pausing the arbitration talk and waiting one more day for the start of the international signing period.

Predictions:

The Orioles will exceed the 87.5 wins set as odds by BetOnline.

The site adds that “these win totals are subject to change leading up to the season due to injuries, performance, public action, etc.” So yes, the acquisition of a stud starting pitcher, for example, could scramble some numbers.

New faces beyond the ones reported should be found inside the Orioles’ spring training clubhouse in February. The 40-man roster has room for two more players. The minor league signings and invites aren’t done.

Got to fill out the Triple-A roster, too. Depth is important.

But in the meantime, those of us who write and talk about the Orioles for a living, especially 365 days a year, are playing the hand that’s dealt.

I’ve wondered whether Kyle Bradish could build on his breakout season, Jordan Westburg would play more regularly, Cole Irvin would keep bouncing between the rotation and bullpen, and John Means would give the club a full and productive season.

I’ve asked for an update on Dillon Tate and whether Seth Johnson would debut next summer. How much Craig Kimbrel has left in tank. Does Jackson Holliday make the Opening Day roster, and what happens to Joey Ortiz?

Want an endorsement for the Orioles trading for a starting pitcher rather than competing in the free agent market?

Michael Wacha received a two-year, $32 million contract from the Royals that included an opt-out clause after the first season. Good for him. And good for Kansas City, which committed a reported $105 million to six free agents.

Wacha can earn $16 million in each season. He’s gone on the injured list nine times in his career, five due to shoulder issues.

The oblique, knee, hamstring and intercostal muscle also are responsible.

Every contract comes with certain risks. Wacha can be really good when able to pitch, but he hasn’t topped 134 1/3 innings since 2017.