The Orioles are kicking left-hander to the bullpen, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters ( via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). Baltimore will stick with a starting five of , , , and rookie . Irvin has spent the majority of his career as a starter. Yet this is the second straight year in which hes been squeezed out of the Baltimore rotation, at least temporarily. Acquired from the As going into the 2023 season, Irvin only started half of his 24 appearances a year ago. Baltimore moved him back into the rotation this year in part because of injuries to , and . He has started 14 of 16 outings. The southpaws overall results are serviceable. Irvin carries a 4.13 ERA in 80 2/3 innings. His 16.1% strikeout rate is well below average, but Irvins game has never been built around mi sing many bats. Hes primarily a control artist and has continued to excel in that regard, walking fewer than 5% of opponents Oliver Dunn Jersey this year. However, the vast majority of Irvins production came in the first two months of the season. He carried a 2.84 ERA through 50 2/3 innings into June. Opponents have teed off on him over the past couple weeks. Irvin was rocked for 6.30 earned runs per nine in 30 innings last month. His home run rate spiked to an untenable 1.8 HR/9 while opposing hitters put up a ma sive .341/.373/.591 slash line. Irvins three most recent starts have been especially poor. He allowed at least five runs in each without completing five innings in any. The 30-year-old will try to sort things out in a multi-inning relief role. Hyde left open the po sibility for Irvin to return to the rotation at any point. His chance of returning to starting could become more limited over the coming weeks. Acquiring starting pitching ideally a third starter who could join Burnes and Rodriguez in a playoff rotation should be a deadline priority for an Os team holding a narrow advantage on the Yankees in the AL East. There might not be a robust supply of high-level starters this summer, which complicates things, but itd be a surprise if the Orioles werent among the more aggre sive suitors for starting pitching. Irvin is playing this season on a $2MM arbitration salary. Hes out of options, so the Orioles cant send him to Triple-A without putting him on waivers. Baltimore controls him via arbitration for two seasons beyond this one, yet it wouldnt be surprising if they shop or even non-tender him next offseason. Theres an outside chance the Os field trade offers on Irvin this summer (especially if they first acquire an impact stater who firmly blocks his path back to a starting job). For now, hes likely to serve in a long relief role in Hydes bullpen. Irvin had solid numbers in that capacity a season ago, working to a 3.26 ERA while striking out 23.3% of opponents in 19 1/3 frames as a reliever. Luke Barker Jersey