Cole Irvin was one of the more notable additions made by general manager Mike Elias in an underwhelming offseason for the Orioles.
He’s now in the minor leagues.
Baltimore optioned the left-handed starter to Triple-A Norfolk after a third straight start in which he failed to complete five innings. The Orioles also placed left-handed reliever Keegan Akin on the paternity list and recalled right-handers Spenser Watkins and Yennier Cano ahead of Friday’s series opener against the White Sox in Chicago.
The 29-year-old Irvin allowed six earned runs against Oakland on Thursday afternoon to raise his season ERA to 10.66 and has been uncharacteristically shaky with his command, walking eight batters in 12 2/3 innings so far this season. In late January, the Orioles acquired Irvin from the Athletics in exchange for minor-league infielder Darell Hernaiz with designs of the 6-foot-4, 225-pound southpaw eating innings and raising the floor of a starting rotation trying to be good enough to compete for a playoff spot in 2023.
“I’m just shooting myself in the foot — just walks, hit by pitches, bad pitches in bad locations that I know not to go to,” Irvin said after Thursday’s 8-7 win. “It’s just small stuff that I really need to continue to clean up. I’m not happy with how these first three have gone, and I’m glad the team got the win and I’m glad we’re going to have a happy flight to Chicago. There’s going to be a lot of work for me going into this next start, and I’m prepared to make some solid adjustments.”
He’ll instead make those adjustments with the Tides.
Many wondered how Irvin’s stuff would fare pitching in the AL East — he allowed nine earned runs in 8 2/3 innings over his first two starts against Boston and the New York Yankees — but he entered 2023 averaging just 2.0 walks per nine innings for his career, leading one to believe he’s dealing with either a mechanical or physical problem that’s hurting his command. Irvin pitched to a 4.11 ERA in 62 starts covering 359 1/3 innings for the Athletics over the last two seasons.
With Irvin in the minors for the time being, right-hander Kyle Bradish could assume his slot in the starting rotation when eligible to return from the 15-day injured list next week. Bradish was set to make a rehab appearance for Double-A Bowie on Friday evening.
