Orioles 2013 Bullpen

Brian Matusz could be one of the more interesting pieces in this seasons bullpen

The Orioles bullpen was probably the biggest strength of the club last season and it propelled them to their 29-9 record in one run games and allowed them to keep games close and give the offense a chance to come back. The Orioles had the third best bullpen Earned run average in the American league while they  had five relievers that pitched well over 50 innings and had sub 2.64 era's.Lets look at how the Baltimore Orioles bullpen should look like come next season.

Closing Pitcher- Jim Johnson he was given the closer role on opening day and he never looked back setting the club record in saves of 51 shattering the old mark of 45 set by Randy Myers back in 1997. He also converted 51 of 54 opportunities and according to the average leverage index, which measures the average pressure he faced in a game, he had the highest mark among relievers in the American League with a 2.054(1 is average). He showed that he has what it takes to be one of the most dominant closers in all of baseball last season and with him still being under team control for two more years I don't see him going anywhere soon.

Set Up: Pedro Strop had a breakthrough year last year where he pitched to a 2.44era in 66 and a third innings having a war of 2.4. He did struggle though as he got toward the end of the year and had a 4.09 and 6.48 in August and September respectively . He ended up losing his role in the bullpen and only pitched two innings in the playoffs.  It is going to be important for him to prove that the ending of last was just an aberration and if he can return to his dominant form than the Orioles should have one of the best closer set up combinations in all of baseball for several years to come.

Set Up: Darren O'Day he was a member of the core group of guys in the pen' that had a great 2012 pitching to a 2.28 era in 67 innings  good enough for a 2.5 war. If Pedro can reclaim his form then he should be primarily the seventh inning guy for Buck and if Strop continues to falter then he could fill in nicely in the 8th inning.

Middle Relief- Luis Ayala-The 34 year old reliever found himself in 2011 with the Yankees where he compiled a career best era of 2.09 after not pitching in the majors since 2009. The Orioles were able to sign him to a rather cheap two year deal and it paid off very well in 2012 with him having a 2.64 era in 75 innings which was good for a 1.7 war. Having Ayala in middle relief should be an asset if he can continue to put up numbers like he has for the past two seasons and could be used as an 8th inning guy if Strop does falter next season

Troy Patton was the lone lefty in the bullpen' for a lot of last season and he thrived in that role last season posting a 2.53 era in 55 innings good enough for a 1.8 war. Since making the transition from starter to reliever Patton has excelled coming out of the bullpen and should be another key piece in the bullpen this season.

Brian Matusz 2012 was a tale of two halves for Brian as he struggled mightily as a starter with a 5.42 era over 16 starts but came back later in the season as a member of the bullpen where he had a tremendous 1.35 era over 13 innings. He excelled so much out of the pen that Buck Showalter used him in all six of the Orioles playoff games. If the Orioles do decide to keep him in the pen next season it would add another left handed reliever that can pitch multiple innings just like Troy Patton and would make the bullpen a lot more stronger. Brian's future is still up in the air though but he has shown the ability to be a great reliever in limited outings last season.

Tommy Hunter could be the longman after struggling as a starter in 2012. He posted a 5.71 era as a starter but a 3.71 era as a reliever and since he is pretty much out of options they have to find a spot for him somewhere or risk exposing him to waivers.

Michael Belfiore

Zach Clark

T.J. McFarland 

Tsuyoshi Wada

Steve Johnson