BALTIMORE (AP) — Dan Duquette spent his first winter in Baltimore scanning the globe in search of starting pitchers.
The Orioles new vice president of baseball operations signed two left-handers who excelled in Japan, pulled off a pair of trades with teams in Los Angeles and Colorado and signed a Venezuelan native whose most notable accomplishment is an imperfect perfect game.
Duquette also reshaped a flawed, overworked bullpen.
His hope is that Baltimore, which finished with the worst ERA in the American League, will have a fighting chance at ending a run of 14 straight losing seasons and be competitive in the baseball's toughest division, the AL East.
Now that Duquette has overhauled the pitching staff, it's up to manager Buck Showalter to sort it all out. That task begins in earnest on Sunday, when the Orioles hold their first spring training practice in Sarasota, Fla.
Showalter is going to need a boatload of baseballs and a whole lot of innings to determine his new rotation, let alone deciding upon an opening day starter. His choices include: Wei-Yen Chen, the Orioles' first Taiwanese native; Tsuyoshi Wada, who was 107-61 with a 3.13 ERA in Japan; trade acquisitions Dana Eveland and Jason Hammel; holdovers Alfredo Simon, Zach Britton, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, Tommy Hunter and Brad Bergesen; and non-roster invitee Armando Galarraga, who lost a perfect game in 2010 with Detroit on a blown call by umpire Jim Joyce with two outs in the ninth inning.
"We have a number of young pitchers that we brought up to the big leagues, and we hope they continue to mature," Duquette said, referring to Britton, Arrieta and Matusz. "But together, the new starters we brought in and the young pitchers we have will give us more depth in the starting rotation. We'll have more options, more pitching depth."
There aren't enough exhibition games to accommodate all those starters, so Showalter and pitching coach Rick Adair will need to devise other venues to test the staff.
"It's just a matter of creating games. I can do that," Showalter said. "We've already got B games lined up, there's intrasquad games, Triple A. Until about March 15 we can keep them all. They'll separate themselves."
Chen and Wada must adjust to a new language, working with catcher Matt Wieters and, most importantly, facing major league hitters.
"The two young pitchers from Japan did well over there," Duquette said. "They have excellent control and quality stuff. We hope that translates to some success here."
Even more intriguing is Matusz, who inexplicably lost his velocity last season after a stay on the disabled list with a rib cage injury. Upon his return, the left-hander went 1-9 with a horrid 10.69 ERA. One of the biggest questions at camp will be whether Matusz, the fourth overall pick in the 2008 draft, can display the prowess he showed in going a combined 15-14 in his first two seasons.
"The arm strength will be there," Matusz declared.
So will plenty of other pitchers eager to take his place in the rotation.
"Dan has done a great job bringing in a lot of arms," Matusz said. "It's going to make for a lot of competition this spring, which is what we need. That's what it's all about at spring training, that competition. Everyone getting together, helping each other work hard, and keep pushing each other."
Some of the pitchers vying for a spot in the starting rotation could end up in the bullpen, which has also undergone a transformation since last season. Among the additions are Matt Lindstrom, Luis Ayala and Oscar Villarreal, who join a mix that includes Jim Johnson and Kevin Gregg, both of whom will compete for the closer's role.
Showalter's decisions this spring will involve more than just pitching. He decided to move Mark Reynolds from first base back to third, even though the slugger made an embarrassing 26 errors at the hot corner last year.
"Mark is 15 to 20 pounds lighter than he was last spring," Showalter said. "Talking to him, he's got a real passion about showing the people of Baltimore and the baseball world how much better he is than he did statistically at third base."
Chris Davis, obtained last July in a trade by Duquette's predecessor, Andy MacPhail, will play first.
But who will be at second base? One of the great mysteries of camp will be determined in the weeks ahead, when Brian Roberts attempts to return from a concussion that limited him to 39 games last year.
"We just have to have a little patience and let that play out," Duquette said.
The Orioles hope Roberts will show up when position players are scheduled to report on Feb. 24, a day center fielder Adam Jones has been anticipating for months.
"That first day you walk in there, it's going to be fun to see," Jones said. "You have that meeting on one of the back fields and everybody's together. You get to see the guys you're going to spending the next seven or eight months with."
Jones may not recognize many of his new teammates, and others won't be sticking around past March. When it comes time for Showalter to trim the roster to 25, he must take into account the fact that 10 players are out of options and must be placed on waivers if they don't make the team.
"That won't be a deciding factor," Showalter said, "but that's sometimes the tiebreaker."
