The Orioles have spent most of this season patching together their bullpen from the right side, and the lack of left-handed help has been hard to miss. At various points, Grant Wolfram was the lone southpaw in the relief mix, and Keegan Akin’s season ended with Tommy John surgery on July 15. Right now, Baltimore’s only lefties in the bullpen are Wolfram and Josh Walker.
That could change soon if Luis De León keeps moving in the direction the Orioles want.
De León, Baltimore’s No. 7 prospect per MLB Pipeline, has been shifted into a relief role at Triple-A Norfolk with an eye on helping the big league club in the stretch run. He made his first appearance out of the bullpen for the Tides on Wednesday night, throwing a scoreless inning against Nashville despite walking three and striking out two.
The 23-year-old from Barahona, Dominican Republic, had only four outings total since being promoted to Triple-A on July 28. He’s posted a 5.28 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings for Norfolk. Before that, he worked as a starter at Double-A Chesapeake, where he logged a 4.33 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 81 innings over 19 starts earlier this season.
De León first got on the Orioles’ radar as an international signee in December 2021, and he also made a strong impression this spring as a first-time non-roster invitee. In Grapefruit League play, he threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings across two appearances, and first-year manager Craig Albernaz came away encouraged.
"I was extremely impressed with him, just his demeanor, especially for a young player navigating his first big league camp," Albernaz said Thursday. "He had a great mound presence about him, pounded the strike zone.
He has elite stuff. A little funky arm angle, too.
It's one of those things where it's keeping our options open for us. But he's an exciting young arm with a lot of talent, and a great kid."
Baltimore entered Thursday’s series finale against the Yankees at Camden Yards with a 61-66 record, still hanging around a crowded American League Wild Card race. That means meaningful games could keep coming well into September, and the Orioles may need another left-handed arm before the month is out.
In Other News...
Gunnar Henderson Has Become A Worrying Sign For The Orioles
Gunnar Henderson has been one of the faces of the Orioles young core, so any hint of regression lands with extra weight in Baltimore. MLB Network analyst Dan ODowd recently raised alarms about Hendersons direction, pointing to a decline in both his hitting and defense since the 2025 All-Star break and framing it as more than a temporary slump. For a team built around internal development, concerns like that naturally spill beyond one player and into the broader question of how the Orioles are shaping their talent.
ODowd went a step further by suggesting the organization, under Mike Elias, may not be getting the most out of Hendersons ability. He even floated the idea that the shortstop could be traded by 2027, while also recommending changes to the developmental setup, including bringing in Bill Ripken as an infield coordinator and perhaps involving Buck Showalter in some role. Whether Baltimore takes any of that seriously is another matter, but the conversation underscores how important Henderson remains to the franchises future and how quickly expectations can shift when a cornerstone player starts to look off track. [Read more 🡒]
Gunnar Henderson Might Finally Have The Fix Orioles Fans Needed
Gunnar Hendersons recent slide had become one of the quieter concerns around Camden Yards, especially for a lineup that leans on him to help set the tone. So the sight of Pete Alonso spending time with Henderson in practice, working through batting mechanics and zeroing in on lower-half posture and hip stability, offered a different kind of development for Orioles fans to track. It is the sort of behind-the-scenes tweak that can matter as much as any box score, particularly when a young hitter is trying to regain the timing that made him one of the clubs most important bats.
What makes the collaboration notable is the source of the advice, with Alonso drawing on his own experience to help Henderson sort out the issues that have made fastballs such a stubborn problem this season. Henderson has shown signs of improvement lately after the prolonged slump, but the work points to a more specific fix than a simple hot streak. For Baltimore, the appeal is obvious: if the changes hold, the Orioles might finally be getting closer to the version of Henderson they have been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Face A Big Kjerstad Decision As Roster Pressure Builds
Heston Kjerstads path through the Orioles system has never moved in a straight line. Baltimores 2020 second overall pick had his development interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and myocarditis, then had to fight through uneven playing time before finally reaching the majors in 2023. After a rough 2025 season, he has spent 2026 trying to rebuild his case the hard way in Triple-A, where his bat has finally started to look more like the one the Orioles envisioned.
Since July 1, Kjerstad has been hitting above .300, and that kind of stretch is the sort of production that can force a front office to make a choice, especially when roster pressure starts to build later in the season. Kjerstad has said he is hoping for a major league call-up later in 2026, and for Baltimore the question is whether there is still room to give a once-promising young hitter another look before the year is out. [Read more 🡒]