Tyler

Wells

The Orioles say they’re still treating Wells as a starter, but he’s seventh or eighth on the depth chart now right there, which suggests that he’s bullpen bound to start the year. He might be the team’s big win vulture while working in the middle innings.

No aces for the Orioles, but this is another strong addition. The 36-year-old Bassitt has made 30 starts each of the last four seasons, going 52-40 with a 3.77 ERA during that span. His stuff did show signs of decline last season and he was left out of the Jays’ postseason rotation, but he wound up looking great as a setup man during the team’s World Series run. He’ll join Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Shane Baz in the Orioles rotation, leaving one spot for Dean Kremer or Zach Elfin. However, they’ll surely need all six starters in the end. The move does push Cade Povich further down the depth chart, and it would seem to guarantee that Tyler Wells will open up in the pen.

He had been projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $2.7 million via arbitration. Wells looked electric in four starts in September following a return from Tommy John surgery, registering a 2.91 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and an 18/2 K/BB ratio across 21 2/3 innings. Now that he’ll have a full healthy off-season under his belt, it should be all systems go for the 31-year-old hurler heading into 2026.

Eflin, who was 26-17 with a 3.54 ERA between 2023 and ’24, is coming off a rough 2025 (6-5, 5.93 ERA in 14 stars) that included season-ending back surgery in August. Maybe he’ll rebound, but he seems more like a depth starter than a potential No. 2 or No. 3 at this point. As things stand now, he’s set to join a rotation that includes Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz and Dean Kremer. That wouldn’t leave any room for Tyler Wells or Cade Povich, assuming that everyone is healthy.

It’s Wells’ worst showing in the four starts since he returned from Tommy John, but it was still a very positive September for the 31-year-old, who winds up 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA and an 18/2 K/BB in 21 2/3 innings. He should certainly be in the Orioles’ plans for 2026, though if the team adds to the rotation — and it certainly ought to — he might find himself in middle relief or Triple-A initially.

Wells allowed four hits, walked none and struck out four. The lone damage came on Mike Tauchman’s homer in the fourth. Wells improved to 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA and a 14/1 K/BB over 17 2/3 innings in three starts since returning from Tommy John surgery. The impressive comeback should ensure that he’s in the Orioles’ plans for 2026, though he might have to compete for a rotation spot in spring training. First, though, he’ll make one more start against the Pirates next week.

Wells locked horns with Pirates ace Paul Skenes in a throwback pitcher’s duel, trading zeroes into the middle innings during his second start back from elbow surgery. The 31-year-old righty filled up the strike zone and retired 20 of the 222 batters he faced into the seventh inning with a solo homer by Spencer Horwitz representing the lone tally for either side until the eighth inning. He’ll face the White Sox on Tuesday in his next outing.

Wells, making his first start of the season after completing his rehab from Tommy John surgery, tossed two scoreless frames before giving up a two-run homer to Luis Arraez in the third inning. He tossed two more scoreless innings, ending his day with four strikeouts over five frames while in line for the win. The 31-year-old right-hander is in line for a matchup against the Pirates in Baltimore next Wednesday.

Wells returns to Baltimore’s six-man rotation for his first outing since last year’s Tommy John surgery. The 31-year-old righty offers some streaming appeal for fantasy managers in extremely deep mixed leagues, but we’re anticipating more of a wait-and-see approach given his lack of significant strikeout upside.

Wells will make his return from last year’s elbow procedure early next week with Baltimore moving to a six-man rotation. The 31-year-old righty might offer some steaming appeal in deeper mixed leagues, but he’s more of a low-upside deep-league play at this stage of his career.