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Baltimore Orioles Make Pitching Decision After Chris Bassitt’s Injury
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- Baltimore Orioles Make Pitching Decision After Chris Bassitt’s Injury
(© David Butler II-Imagn Images)
The Baltimore Orioles starting rotation is completely different now due to so many injuries. The latest arm to hit the shelf was right-hander Chris Bassitt .
Bassitt was placed on the 15-day injured list due to lower back discomfort last week. He suffered the injury during a start against the Boston Red Sox when the issue flared up and forced him to leave early with trainers.
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Bassitt is in his first year with the Orioles after signing a one-year, $18.5 million deal this past winter to solidify the back of the rotation. Unfortunately, he has failed to do that, as age has clearly started to catch up to him.
The 37-year-old has posted a 5.27 ERA in 12 appearances with just 37 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings. That ERA would be the highest mark of his career in over a decade if the season ended today.
Now Bassitt will be sidelined, failing to even provide the innings Baltimore's front office had hoped for. The question becomes how the team fills those innings, and manager Craig Albernaz provided the answer ahead of a game against the San Diego Padres .
"Craig Albernaz said Trey Gibson stays in rotation with Chris Bassitt out," reported Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports.
It makes sense why Gibson is the choice. He remains one of the organization's top prospects ( second behind Luis De Leon according to MLB Pipeline ) and one of their best developmental success stories, having signed as an undrafted free agent.
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Gibson made the spot start for Bassitt last week, and now he will remain a fixture in the rotation. The 24-year-old has struggled through five appearances this year, posting a 5.91 ERA and not striking out many batters, with just 12 in 21 1/3 innings. However, given what Bassitt was providing, it is not a huge downgrade.
There is also reason for optimism with Gibson beyond the raw numbers so far. While the lack of strikeouts at the big-league level is a bit concerning, Gibson has shown he can rack them up. In his minor league career, he has 324 strikeouts in 252 1/3 innings, a profile that suggests more is in the tank than his early results indicate.
With Baltimore looking to climb back into the playoff picture sooner rather than later, the hope is that Gibson can settle in and start giving the team quality starts on a more consistent basis.
