Manager Buck Showalter said after Thursday's 2-0 loss to the Texas Rangers that right-hander Miguel Gonzalez would start Sunday's series finale in Chicago against the White Sox, but left questions as to who follows him.
The Orioles rotation was thrown off by last Saturday's rainout and subsequent doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians, started by Ubaldo Jimenez and Chris Tillman.
Kevin Gausman was summoned from Triple-A Norfolk to start Thursday and tied a career high with seven strikeouts in 6 1/3 scoreless innings. That put the rotation back on schedule for Jimenez and Tillman with Jimenez scheduled to start Friday and Tillman starting Saturday.
Bud Norris allowed five runs and four home runs in six innings Monday against the Rangers and has a 6.79 ERA this season. He typically follows Tillman in the rotation, but Gonzalez, who also struggled to the tune of six runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Rangers on Tuesday, would be on four days rest Sunday.
Showalter opted for Gonzalez, with Norris available but unused out of the bullpen Thursday and getting work in after the game, the manager said.
But with Gausman traveling to Chicago with the team and potentially earning another start, and Wei-Yin Chen coming off a strong performance Wednesday, Norris could be temporarily on the outside of the rotation.
With the Orioles unable to shuffle much on their roster because of a lack of players with minor league options, Norris could find a short-term home as a long reliever, able to give the team multiple innings in the event of a short start or extra innings.
He could, too, be inserted into the rotation Monday and have the discussion be moot. The Orioles haven't announced their starters for next week's series at the Minnesota Twins.
But with shuffling surely on the horizon as the team aims to keep the pitching staff fresh before the All-Star break and also add second baseman Jonathan Schoop in the coming days, utilizing an in-house option like Norris to bolster the bullpen would make plenty of short-term sense.