Orioles activate and option Cade Povich to Triple-A

Povich allowed one run in five innings in a spot start on Monday against the Rockies. The Orioles will not use a six-man rotation, so Povich will return to his starting role in Triple-A.

Povich did solid work in limiting the Rockies to one double and four singles in his 87-pitch outing. The Orioles aren’t committed to sticking with a six-man rotation, so Povich might return to Triple-A after this. He’ll still likely play some sort of role in September, though.

Povich draws the starting assignment for Monday’s game against the Rockies in Coors Field’s extremely hitter-friendly environment. He’s an obvious stay-away for fantasy purposes in this spot. The 26-year-old lefty has posted a pedestrian 4.45 ERA across 28 1/3 innings of work for the Orioles this season. It’s likely to be a one-and-done spot start unless Baltimore decides to move to a six-man rotation.

Cade Povich will start Monday’s series opener against the Rockies at Coors Field with Bradish taking the ball on Tuesday instead. There doesn’t appear to be a physical issue at play here, but the Orioles want to give him some extra rest. The 29-year-old is coming off a disastrous outing against the Cardinals last week where he was torched for seven runs over 4 1/3 innings. It’s challenging to trust Bradish in Coors Field, especially in shallow mixed leagues. There’s a chance his next outing against the Red Sox this weekend could also get pushed back, eliminating a two-start week in the process. There are superior alternatives on the waivers wire in most shallow mixed leagues.

Povich was great in his start last week, but the Orioles have Chris Bassitt returning from the injured list this week, so he will take Povich’s spot. If the Orioles officially fall out of playoff contention, it might make sense for them to give Povich a few more starts to see if he can be an option for them in 2027.

Povich gave up seven hits, but they amounted to only eight total bases, and he walked just one. He won for the seventh time in 40 starts since debuting with Baltimore in 2024. The Orioles are about to get Chris Bassitt back, so it’s currently unclear if Povich will get another start. He definitely helped his case, though. If he stays in the rotation, he’ll face the Rangers on Sunday.

Povich rejoins Baltimore’s pitching equation to start against the Angels on Tuesday night. The 26-year-old southpaw missed the last few months with elbow inflammation that put him on the shelf back in early May. It’s an extremely favorable matchup right out of the gate that he should be able to take advantage of.

Povich is a couple weeks away from being an option for the Orioles after hitting the injured list with elbow inflammation back in early May. The 26-year-old had a consultation with renowned specialist Dr. Keith Meister last month where the determination was made that he wouldn’t require surgery at the time. He’s trending towards making it back to Baltimore at some point around next month’s All-Star break.

Povich met with Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday and received a cortisone injection. The left-hander will likely need to throw a few bullpens and then make rehab starts, but it does appear — for now — that Povich has avoided a season-ending injury.

Povich has been sidelined since May 7th with what was originally described as forearm discomfort but then became elbow inflammation. The fact that he visited a surgeon renowned for performing Tommy John procedures isn’t great news, but it seems that the course of action right now is to address the current inflammation with an injection and then evaluate him again after the inflammation goes down. We should know more about Povich’s potential need for surgery in a week or two.