Wins rotation spot Wells will open the year in the Orioles' rotation, though he'll piggyback with a multi-inning reliever, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports. Impact Wells was a starter throughout his minor-league career, though he hasn't started a game since 2018. He missed all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery and didn't pitch in 2020 due to the canceled minor-league season, but he returned as a reliever last season and pitched fairly well. He recorded a 4.11 ERA in 57 innings, with his strong 29.0 percent strikeout rate and 5.4 percent walk rate being offset by a very low 21.4 percent groundball rate. The 27-year-old could be an interesting deep-league option if he can keep his strikeout and walk numbers from regressing too much over longer outings, though he may not pitch deep enough to qualify for the win in most of his starts.
MARCH 31, 2022 • ROTOWIRE