The Orioles reshaped their rotation depth and infield alignment in one swoop Saturday, when they acquired right-hander Adam Plutko from the Indians for cash considerations and designated Yolmer S¨¢nchez for assignment. S¨¢nchez had been Baltimore¡¯s projected starting second baseman with less than a week until Opening Day.

Plutko, 29, went 13-12 with a 5.05 ERA in 50 appearances (36 starts) for Cleveland from 2016-20, mostly serving in a swingman role. He was out of Minor League options and pitched to a 5.00 ERA in six outings this spring, none exceeding two innings. His addition quells a bit of uncertainty for an Orioles team that will head north without projected starter Keegan Akin, who was optioned Friday after posting a 10.00 ERA in Grapefruit League play.

The Orioles see Plutko as a bulk-innings reliever and candidate to start games down the line. General manager/executive vice president Mike Elias said Plutko is stretched out enough to provide two-to-four-inning stints by the regular season. Plutko pitched 27 2/3 big league innings in 2020, and 109 1/3 in '19, when he produced a career-best 4.86 ERA in 21 games (20 starts).

¡°He has starter traits and the ability to log innings. We¡¯re going to need a lot of innings from a lot of different pitchers,¡± Elias said. ¡°We¡¯re concerned about pitching innings. These guys are coming off the shortened season and going into a full season. Nobody knows what to make of that, and adding to that, we have considerations about our young pitchers. These guys are unproven, they may not perform. ¡­ We¡¯re going into a long, unknown season and want to put ourselves in a position to protect our young starters and not overtax our bullpen. So it¡¯ll be all hands on deck.¡±

Elias said he projects ¡°every single one¡± of the pitchers currently on the Orioles' 40-man roster to log big league innings in 2021, barring injury. The club must still decide on the roster¡¯s exact complexion for Opening Day. The decision regarding right-hander F¨¦lix Hern¨¢ndez (right elbow discomfort) could come as soon as Sunday.

As of Saturday night, the Orioles had committed publicly to only two rotation members: Opening Day starter John Means and Matt Harvey. Plutko now profiles as depth among a rotation candidate/swingman mix that includes Dean Kremer, Wade LeBlanc, Jorge L¨®pez and Bruce Zimmermann.

Acquired on waivers to be Hanser Alberto¡¯s replacement at second base this winter, S¨¢nchez hit .190 this spring while starting every other day at second base. Still, him being DFA'd came as a surprise. S¨¢nchez had been penciled into the leadoff spot in Saturday¡¯s starting lineup before the move, one day after the Orioles optioned two potential replacements, Jahmai Jones and Richie Martin, to Triple-A Norfolk. Elias said Pat Valaika and Ram¨®n Ur¨ªas are the leading candidates to start at second base on Opening Day.

¡°We¡¯re more than comfortable with either of those guys, or some combination, holding down that spot early on,¡± Elias said. ¡°That¡¯s why we made the move that we made.¡±

As recently as Thursday, O¡¯s manager Brandon Hyde said he was ¡°very, very pleased with how he¡¯s played¡± when asked about S¨¢nchez, who won a Gold Glove Award with the White Sox in 2019. S¨¢nchez was set to earn $1 million this season. Ur¨ªas, who turned heads early in spring as a super-utility candidate, replaced S¨¢nchez in the lineup for Saturday¡¯s 8-5 loss to the Braves.

The Orioles also have utility candidate Stevie Wilkerson still in camp, but bringing him north would require adding him to the 40-man roster, which is currently full. They could also scour the waiver wire for other fits, targeting out-of-options players who might become available prior to Opening Day.

Without that happening, the most likely scenario is either Valaika or Ur¨ªas manning second early on, with the other serving in a super-utility role. That would allow Baltimore to carry a three-man bench and 14 pitchers.