NewsUehara injury may force Orioles' hand
Club considers bringing up prospects to fill staff holes
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com
07/02/09 10:08 PM ET
ANAHEIM -- They've lost two arms to injuries and two more to attrition. The Orioles are competing with only one member of their Opening Day rotation, and they've seen some of their holes patched by prospects from within the organization. Now, the focus in Baltimore may turn even further toward the future.The Orioles learned Wednesday that Koji Uehara will be out for a couple of months due to a partially torn flexor tendon in his pitching elbow, an ailment that could have the team thinking about promoting its best prospects. Andy MacPhail, Baltimore's president of baseball operations, addressed that very possibility on Thursday.
"Unfortunately, we have to respond to events as they are in real life," said MacPhail, who has preached patience in terms of promoting his top prospects. "As much as we'd like to have a certain timetable, often reality doesn't allow you to do that. Often, circumstances are such that you don't want to penalize somebody who continues to do well. I'm pretty pleased with the way our pitching in the system has evolved over the course of this year to date. And I think, if we have more needs as we go along, we've got candidates internally to fill those needs."
One of those candidates, Chris Tillman, was recently selected to compete in the Triple-A International League's All-Star Game. The Orioles want Tillman -- who has been one of the youngest pitchers in virtually every league he's competed in -- to continue growing at his own pace. Still, his time may be close to arriving.
MacPhail wouldn't address Tillman's case specifically on Thursday, and he's consistently said that fellow top prospects Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz need as much time as possible to ease their transition. Now, with just staff ace Jeremy Guthrie remaining from the original rotation, it may be time to reconsider.
"You recognize that it's going to happen," said MacPhail of his staff's turnover. "And not just to us, but really to a lot of teams over the course of the year. That's one reason you invite 36 guys to Spring Training, and it's one of the reasons we're so keen on developing as much depth as we can from our starting pitching.
"We're really fortunate -- and I'm pleased -- that we've been able to reach down to the Minor Leagues and have guys like [Brad] Bergesen, [David] Hernandez and [Jason] Berken come in and pitch to the degree that they have and to help plug the holes that will inevitably appear over the course of the six-month season."
Bergesen, the team's Minor League Pitcher of the Year, has indeed been a revelation. The right-hander teamed with Berken, Hernandez and Tillman to form one of the Double-A Eastern League's most dangerous rotations last year in Bowie, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see them all on the staff in one capacity or another next year.
Tillman is the final link, and there's a good chance he could join the big league staff shortly after the All-Star break. That, in turn, puts pressure on the coaching staff to integrate the youngsters as painlessly as possible.
"Obviously, you'd like to have five guys for the whole year, but realistically, that doesn't always happen," said pitching coach Rick Kranitz. "But when something like that happens, it gives other guys opportunities. To me, that's what it's all about. When it's your turn and you get an opportunity, you take advantage of it.
"Yeah, it's too bad with Koji and I would've loved to pencil him in there every fifth day, but there's some things you can't control. And it's going to give Hernandez a great opportunity to show us what he has."
Kranitz went on to say that his job doesn't change much, that he's still as much of a teacher with veteran pitchers as he is for the young ones. The veteran coach, who has presided over a similar rebuilding movement in Florida, said that there's no substitute for a gradual progression and a thorough education in the Minor Leagues.
"The guys down there have to have their time," Kranitz said. "We can't expect them to come up here and be miracle workers. There's a process they have to go through in the Minor Leagues. That process is getting innings, getting comfortable, pitching deep in games and pitching to good competition. They'll let us know when it's time.
"They've got to do certain things. ... Fastball command is essential at this level, and they all seem to be developing very nicely down there. And that's really what you want. Because when you do make the call, you hope not to just bring them up to send them down. You want them to come up and be ready to go."
Manager Dave Trembley, a 20-year manager in the Minors, agreed with Kranitz, and while he lamented Uehara's loss, he was enthusiastic about the learning experiences that may come out of it. Trembley said he just wants to get his team to the All-Star break, and then he'll start pondering how to work in the second half.
But nobody, as far as he's concerned, has broached the topic of promoting the young prospects.
"I could tell you right now [that] I haven't discussed that with Andy," he said. "I think the course of action will remain the same -- be patient, allow our prospects to get enough time. I think that kind of stuff is probably better to be considered for September. To be honest with you, I don't see that happening in July or August. And by then, I'm not so sure some of those kids who we've been referring to will come up here. Because by then, they may have thrown too many innings. Matusz, for one, when his Minor League season is over, he's done, it's over. He's going home. Some of the other guys, we'll see where they're at. But I would think it's questionable."
Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
