The Orioles intend to build back up as a starting pitcher this spring, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters ( Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun). The 25-year-old righty worked in a multi-inning relief role between the Pirates and Angels last year. Its not clear how long this will last. Contreras is certainly not a lock to stick on Baltimores roster through the end of camp. He has changed teams via waivers five times this offseason alone. The Os have claimed him twice, most recently grabbing him Patrick Corbin Jersey from the Yankees in early February. Contreras is , so teams cannot send him to the minors without running him through waivers. No one has succe sfully snuck him through the wire unclaimed. Theres no real path for Contreras to begin the season in Baltimores rotation. Hyde confirmed this morning (link via ) that hed have a mostly settled starting five if everyone gets through camp healthy: , , , and . Hyde added that righty and southpaw project as his top two depth arms, in that order. Even with and delayed by injuries (knee and lat, respectively), Contreras would be no higher than eighth on the rotation depth chart. He could settle into a long relief role, but even thatd probably require at least one injury to Baltimores top eight relievers. , , , and Surez (whod start the season as a long reliever) cannot be sent down either because of their service time or out-of-options status. , and are locks. Thats a full bullpen already and would exclude both Contreras and , neither of whom can be optioned. Theres a decent chance the Os waive Contreras closer to Opening Day. If he goes unclaimed, they could have him work from the rotation at Triple-A Norfolk. A former highly-regarded prospect, Contreras pitched 68 1/3 innings of 4.35 ERA ball a year ago. He recorded a modest 18.8% strikeout rate while walking 10.4% of batters faced. Hed mostly worked as a starter over two prior seasons in Pittsburgh. He combined for an ERA just south of 5.00 in 163 1/3 frames between 2022-23. He throws six distinct pitches, per Statcast, so its a relatively deep arsenal. His command has been problematic, though, and none of his top four offerings (four-seam, slider, changeup, sinker) were huge weapons last season. The slider was the only of those pitches to mi s bats at an above-average rate. Ben Braymer Jersey