Orioles general manager explains shocking roster decision

As Trevor Rogers is getting the Baltimore Orioles’ Opening Day start when next Thursday rolls around, there was another decision made that no doubt surprised people on Saturday. After the shocking move by the Orioles to send pitcher Dean Kremer to the minor leagues, general manager Mike Elias explained what led to that decision.

Kremer led Baltimore last year with 11 wins, while also pitching a 4.19 ERA and 142 strikeouts in 31 games (29 starts) and 171.2 innings. However, Elias believes that it will be a “short-term affair” for Kremer being in the minor leagues.

“So we’re pretty confident and hopeful that it will be a short-term affair,” Elias said, according to Jacob Calvin Meyer. “And we had an honest conversation with Dean about it, and in character with him, he’s completely professional about it, and he’ll be ready when his name is called, and hopefully that’s not too long.”

Here is Mike Elias’ full explanation on why he optioned Dean Kremer to Triple-A:

“We're pretty confident and hopeful that it'll be a short-term affair. We had an honest conversation with Dean about it, and in character with him, he was completely professional about it.” pic.twitter.com/UfhVjCuj0i

— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) March 21, 2026

Orioles’ Mike Elias speaks more on the decision

Looking at what will likely be the Orioles’ five-man rotation, it will include Rodgers, Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz, Chris Bassitt, and Zach Eflin. Elias would go more into the decision of starting Kremer in the minor leagues in 2026, stating that the team had conversations on having a six-man rotation or even using a pitcher in a “piggyback” situation.

“At this point, we have what we view as six healthy starters,” Elias said. “At that point, the conversation becomes, do we do a six-man rotation? Looking at the schedule and the amount of off days we have in April, that didn’t look beneficial. In fact, it looked like it might be detrimental. And of course, to do a six-man rotation, you got to subtract head count from your bullpen.”

“We talked about setting up some type of piggyback or moving someone to the bullpen, and that didn’t make sense for us either with what we were trying to do for the first couple turns through the rotation,” Elias continued.

Either way, it remains to be seen how Kremer’s role with Baltimore changes throughout the season as Opening Day is next Thursday against the Minnesota Twins.

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