SARASOTA, Fla. -- Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer -- the lone survivor of the star-for-prospects Trade Deadline deal that brought five players for All-Star Manny Machado in 2018 -- isn¡¯t producing the best Grapefruit League statistics.
Kremer surrendered four runs in four-plus innings in Wednesday¡¯s 13-5 loss to the Braves at Ed Smith Stadium. He gave up solo homers to Nick Allen and Michael Harris II while giving up seven hits, three walks and striking out three in his third start of the spring.
He has a 9.00 ERA with 11 strikeouts and eight walks across 12 innings and four outings.
Kremer was all the Orioles really ended up getting in the Machado trade for five Minor Leaguers on July 18, 2018. The Dodgers also sent position players Rylan Bannon, Yusniel D¨ªaz, Breyvic Valera and pitcher Zach Pop. The trio of hitters combined for 12 total hits in their brief Oriole careers, while Pop was lost in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft before eventually sticking in the Majors and has pitched 155 2/3 innings over four big league seasons.
He was asked to reflect on that career-changing trade.
¡°I¡¯m still foolin¡¯ them,¡± Kremer said with a smile. ¡°But, no, I got an opportunity and took advantage of it. And I¡¯m just doing what I can to stay here.¡±
Kremer was 13-5 with a 4.12 ERA in his breakout season of 2023, and went 8-10 with a 4.10 ERA last year. He¡¯s logged 302 1/3 innings the last two seasons with 280 strikeouts and 106 walks.
Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde is expecting Kremer, 29, to take the next step up from solid to significant in 2025.
¡°I think it¡¯s the consistency for me,¡± Kremer said of elevating his contributions. ¡°Personally, the consistency of quality is going to be the difference-maker for that next step.
¡°I think a good quote is, ¡®Being good is boring.¡¯ Do the same thing over and over again, and you keep doing it, you might get bored. But if you¡¯re really good at it, it ends up working out for you.¡±
What motivates him?
The competition,¡± said Kremer, who threw 49 of 77 pitches for strikes. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re here. All of us are competitors from the moment we step into the locker room and leaving our personal lives outside of here¡That¡¯s the main driver for all of us.
Kremer took a no-hitter into the seventh inning Sep. 6 against the Rays and closed last year strong -- with a 2.98 ERA in his last eight starts.
When asked what was clicking that he can take forward, he said, ¡°I mean, I¡¯d have to go back and look at the tapes because I can¡¯t remember off the top of my head. But it was probably getting ahead in the count and locating my pitches.¡±
He has established himself in the rotation of a contending team, and is 30-30 with a 4.28 ERA in five seasons. Yet, he is approaching spring as if he doesn¡¯t have a secure spot.
¡°It¡¯s the same kind of deal every year,¡± said Kremer. ¡°I still feel like I need to compete for a spot here. If I don¡¯t have that mindset, then I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to do. That¡¯s just who I am, and finding weapons I can use during the season. It¡¯s definitely something we work towards in spring training.¡±
Hyde was asked about Kremer¡¯s take-nothing-for-granted attitude.
¡°Dean is a competitor,¡± said Hyde. ¡°He threw a lot of two-seams in this game ¨C was working on his two-seam [fastball]. He gave up the home run on an elevated split[-finger]. But, no, Dean competes every time out.
¡°But it was a tough day. His [fastball] velocity was 90, 93 on the board, and I think you¡¯ll see it tick up as the season starts.¡±
Last year, according to Baseball Savant, Kremer averaged 93.0 mph on his four-seamer, which tops his usage frequency list at 32 percent. He throws the cutter 23 percent, splitter 18 percent, sinker 15 percent and curve 11 percent of the time.
That sinking two-seamer he worked on in this game would be a nice complement to his rising four-seam bread-and-butter pitch. That combo is designed to keep hitters off-balance.
Kremer said that while the results obviously weren¡¯t the best, ¡°there was a lot of weaker contact, and I¡¯ll take it.¡±