Orioles Bullpen Provides Bright Spot In Up-and-Down Season

With so many eyes on the revamped lineup and starting rotartion in Baltimore, the bullpen faced scrutiny from fans and the media heading into the 2026 season. Questions arose whether a stable of arms that underperformed in 2025 had been properly addressed.

Now, the front office did not completely forget about adding to the bullpen during the offseason. The Baltimore Orioles signed former New York Mets closer Ryan Helsley to a two-year, $28 million deal as well as trading for Andrew Kittredge from the Chicago Cubs after trading him away at the trade deadline.

Heading into 2026, uncertainty over who could pitch in high-leverage situations cast doubt on how successful this group could be. The team had their closer, but it was bridging to Helsley with a lead that concerned fans.

Nearly a month into the season, arms like Rico Garcia and Anthony Nunez have emerged as candidates to take the bump in tight situations. After starting the year relatively unknown, the duo has shot up to becoming some of the bullpen’s most trusted arms.

Veterans like Helsley and Yennier Cano are also having strong starts to the season. Cano’s setup-man experience and Helsley ability to slam the door are both welcome sights to O’s fans.

Stats were taken prior to play on April 22.

From Zero To Hero

No analysis of the Orioles’ bullpen can take place without addressing the unit’s best arm so far this year, Rico Garcia. The 32-year-old has had an immaculate start to the year. In 12 innings the righty has 13 strikeouts and four walks.

Oh, and up until April 21, he had also not given up a hit.

Only 3 players in Major League History have started a season over 11 games , not allowing a hit , or a run

Rico Garcia joins as #4

Justin Wilson 2017
Scott Aldred 1999
John Franco 1987
Rico Garcia 2026

Incredible start

— PigTownSports (@PigTownSports) April 21, 2026

Garcia’s season started with the Puerto Rico WBC team. Across 1.1 innings of work, the righty struck out one with no hits allowed, helping the team get to the quarterfinals. With Baltimore, the WBC success has continued into the MLB regular season.

According to Statcast, Garcia is in the 99th percentile for xERA and hard-hit percentage and the 98th percentile for xBA, average exit velocity and groundball percentage. The Honolulu native went from bouncing around from team to team to becoming one of the best setup arms in baseball.

The O’s bullpen is home to another breakout arm in Anthony Nunez. The college shortstop turned pitcher surprised the media when he broke camp with the big-league team. Nearly one month into the season, Nunez has been one of the biggest bright spots on the team.

The 24-year-old was acquired at last year’s trade deadline in a deal that sent Cedric Mullins to the Mets. For a two-month rental, the Orioles might have gotten an arm that will pitch in high-leverage situations for years to come.

With just 66.2 innings of work in the minor leagues, Nunez has shot up through the ranks quickly to make his way to the big leagues.

The righty’s success in 2026 can mostly be attributed to strong strikeout and walk rates. A 4.8% walk rate ranks in the 90th percentile paired with a 31% strikeout rate that sits in the 87th percentile.

Nunez’s method to producing these dazzling numbers comes from getting hitters to swing and miss as well as chase out of the strike zone. A 93rd-percentile chase rate and a 95th-percentile whiff rate shows that Nunez is deceiving batters at an elite rate.

Garcia and Nunez both came into the year as names that few Orioles fans knew about. Now, both arms are Albernaz’s go-to choices in high-leverage situations.

Veterans Finding Their Form

While the highlight of the bullpen has been Garcia and Nunez’s emergence, veterans arms that Baltimore was relying on before the season started have also found success.

Closer Ryan Helsley was brought in to fill the shoes left by Felix Bautista, whose unfortunate injury luck has caused the O’s to use a closer-by-committee operation in save opportunities.

Helsley came to Baltimore off the back of a disappoitining 2025, where the flamethrower blew nine saves while recording a 4.50 ERA and 4.14 FIP. The 31-year-old also had a career-worst .270 opponent batting average and 1.54 WHIP.

In 2026, the two-time All-Star has improved in several areas. A 2.21 FIP and .194 opponent batting average are similar to his time with the St. Louis Cardinals. His 34.9% strikeout rate and 78.6% left-on-base percentage are both better compared to the closer’s 2024 season where Helsley won the Trevor Hoffman Reliever of the Year Award.

While the O’s offense has not given Helsley a large amount of chances to record a save, the righty is showing that he will be ready to lock things down if the team finds its groove.

Veteran arm Yennier Cano has also been a bright spot in the Orioles bullpen. “The Rock” has rebounded in 2026 after taking a step back in 2025.

In 2023 and 2024, Cano was the O’s go-to eighth-inning guy ahead of Bautista in the ninth. However, in 2025, the former Minnesota Twin saw notable regression in K/9, opponent batting average and left-on-base percentage. As a high-leverage arm, those shortfalls led directly to the team losing games.

In 2026, vintage Cano appears to taking the bump. The 32-year-old’s 33.3% strikeout rate is up 12 points compared to 2025. An opponent .154 batting average, 0.68 WHIP and 1.10 FIP would all be career bests.

While Cano’s 11 appearances and 7.1 innings of work do not make him a qualified reliever yet, his 36.2% whiff rate would be one of the highest in the big leagues.

That success is due to Cano inducing more break on his sinker and slider. On his sinker, Cano gets 34.9 inches of vertical drop, over 11 inches more than comparable pitches. With the righty’s slider, Cano induces 12.3 inches of glove-side horizontal break, 8.8 inches more than comparable pitches.

The sample size is small, but the results speak loudly. If Cano is able to build off the success, the Orioles would have several arms that could be relied on late in ball games.

Outlook For the Season

All four of the arms listed in this article are proving that the Orioles have talent in the bullpen that can help them win close games. For a unit that was heavily questioned heading into the season, the group has largely impressed.

Now, succeeding in April does not guarantee that same success when the lights get brighter come August and September. For newer arms like Garcia and Nunez, learning to pitch with the amplified pressure will be crucial.

A team can never have too many arms in the bullpen. With the inconsistency the O’s offense is showing, having a reliable bullpen will necessary to help right the ship.

While Mason Miller is, deservedly, garnering all of the bullpen limelight, arms in the Baltimore deserve some national attention. If they can continue to dominant throughout the season, that limelight will surely find its way to the Charm City.

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