O's get contributions from unlikely sources

BALTIMORE -- In a little more than one week’s time, the Orioles will enter the offseason with one of baseball’s most malleable rosters, checkered with insecure spots up and down the pitching staff and at several positions, particularly on the infield.

Second and third base are the two most obvious, given how Baltimore has rotated multiple players through both positions and, in turn, received MLB-low production at second and American League-low production from the hot corner in 2021.

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Combine that fact with all the uncertainty on the pitching side and it's easy to see why, even at this late stage of the season, manager Brandon Hyde so often reminds his players they each still have something to play for.

Seven more games remain to make an impression, every pitch an opportunity for everyone involved. Which is why it was notable how Baltimore claimed its 3-2 win over the Rangers on Saturday night at Camden Yards, when nearly every contributor padded his case to return in 2022.

Powered by the bottom of their lineup, the Orioles used a seventh-inning rally to snap a scoreless tie and four recently acquired pitchers to put them in a position to capture what would be their first four-game series victory of the season, if they can take Sunday’s finale.

Pat Valaika’s go-ahead RBI double opened the scoring before Kelvin Gutierrez’s two-run homer, the third baseman’s first in 40 games with the club. This after Chris Ellis, Marcos Diplán and Joey Krehbiel -- all three righties plugged into the bullpen within the last two months -- combined to hold Texas scoreless over the first six-plus frames.

“We had quite a few guys down today, so it was going to be a game with a lot of guys who are new to us, and I was really impressed,” Hyde said. “I was really happy with how we played defense as well … there was a lot of good stuff tonight.”

In short, it was a team win from a club that can look dramatically different month to month. The Orioles have used a franchise-high 62 players this season, churning the roster near daily and with such frequency that only three players -- Cedric Mullins, Trey Mancini and Pedro Severino -- have remained on it and active continuously since Opening Day.

They’ve used 15 different starting pitchers, and the current rotation consists of John Means and four rookies. Nine of the 11 members of the current bullpen arrived after the All-Star break, either from the Minors or via waiver claim.

Ellis has proven one of the more useful finds. Baltimore has won five of his six starts since he was claimed off waivers from the Rays in late August, and the 29-year-old has posted a 2.49 ERA in that span.

“It’s been a good opportunity here,” said Ellis, who pitched three scoreless innings and is questionable to pitch again this season due to lingering arm fatigue. “I’ve tried to do the best I can with it. I’m fairly happy with how the season’s gone. I want to end on a high note but we’ll see what the future has in store.”

On the infield, Gutierrez arrived on waivers from the Royals in July and took over third base full-time in late August, after Baltimore parted ways with Maikel Franco. He’s hitting .221 with five extra-base hits in 127 plate appearances but rated above average defensively, with four outs above average in a small sample. He’s faced little internal pressure given Rylan Bannon’s struggles at Triple-A and the Baltimore system’s dearth of other upper-level third-base prospects.

“I see this as a huge opportunity for me,” Gutierrez said. “This is something I’ve been working at hard, and now it's time for me to keep working hard and take advantage of this situation.”

Meanwhile, second base has been a revolving door all year. The 29-year-old Valaika is getting most of the reps there now (he started at short Saturday and moved to second mid-game) with Ramón Urías sidelined. His is another glove-first profile (five outs above average, .540 OPS), and the presence of both Urias and No. 18 prospect Jahmai Jones would seem to make Valaika vulnerable this offseason, when he’s arbitration-eligible for the second time.