If there’s anything to take from watching the postseason, it’s the crucial role a dynamic, stout bullpen can provide — often in the form of a flame-throwing, late-game powerhouse.

The Orioles had one of those. His name is Félix Bautista, but shoulder surgery to repair the right-hander’s torn labrum and rotator cuff will likely prevent him from pitching next season. The Orioles also dealt several experienced arms ahead of July’s trade deadline.

The result was a group for the latter half of this season that lacked major league experience. Baltimore’s interim manager, Tony Mansolino, often spoke of the challenge of navigating his bullpen following the trade deadline. The roles, suddenly, were all new — the Orioles learned all about their young arms on the fly, just as the fans did.

This winter, a major focus will be revamping the relief corps to ensure it’s a group that has the mettle to withstand close games in the American League East. There are intriguing options, such as Edwin Díaz and Robert Suarez, at the top of the impending free-agent class.

But there are also pitchers who did enough to warrant consideration for the 2026 Orioles bullpen. This list is limited to those who were newcomers to the bullpen, which means Albert Suárez, Keegan Akin and Yennier Cano, among other holdovers, were not under consideration.

Instead, here are four players who made the most of a season that otherwise disappointed.

Dietrich Enns, 3.14 ERA

In the flurry of trade activity July 31, this deal flew under the radar. The Orioles acquired left-hander Dietrich Enns from the Detroit Tigers in a for-cash deal. Although Enns’ seven games for Detroit resulted in a 5.60 ERA, he took well to life in Baltimore.

Enns became a valuable piece as a reliever capable of throwing more than one inning. In 11 of 17 appearances, Enns recorded four or more outs. He did it with a relatively high success rate, finishing with a 3.14 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 3.73 FIP.

(Fielding-independent pitching bases a pitcher’s success only on what he can control: strikeouts, walks, hit batters, home runs. The statistic removes the advantage or disadvantage a team’s defensive acumen has in a pitcher’s outcomes. The lower the FIP, the better. In Enns’ case, it shows Baltimore’s defense helped him only slightly, which is a positive sign that his underlying performances were not the result of luck.)

The Orioles can keep Enns next season if they trigger a $3 million club option. It seems to be a reasonable expense for the 34-year-old southpaw, although Baltimore declined left-hander Danny Coulombe’s $4 million club option last year.

If Enns remains with the Orioles, he could enter spring training as one of the top returning arms, considering his performance over 28 2/3 innings in the second half of the season.

Much of the progress for Enns came on the back of his four-seam fastball, which he threw a season-high 53.5% of the time in September. He drew whiffs on it at a 31.9% clip. And, compared to the 93 mph average velocity he displayed with the Tigers, Enns’ fastball rose to an average of 94.5 mph by year’s end.

Grant Wolfram, 5.40 ERA

That ERA is deceptive. When left-hander Grant Wolfram debuted in the majors in April, he allowed two runs in 1 1/3 innings. He then waited until July for his next appearance and soon after conceded eight runs across two outings. That inflated the 28-year-old’s numbers.

The final 19 innings of Wolfram’s season, however, showed a more promising output. He finished those 15 games with a 2.84 ERA and 2.40 FIP, walking nine batters and striking out 22. The combination of command and swing-and-miss stuff makes Wolfram a potential third lefty out of the bullpen, if they also keep Akin and Enns.

Part of Wolfram’s development included a new sweeper. He introduced it late in August and began throwing it more than his slider come September. It varies from his slider by offering a lesser velocity (84 mph vs. 87 mph) with more horizontal break. The slider is a shorter, harder breaking pitch. His sweeper plays off that, falling away from a left-hander even more.

Wolfram’s sinker and four-seam fastball both have arm-side movement, with the sinker displaying the most in his arsenal. And Wolfram’s curveball is close to a 12-6 path, completing the well-rounded arsenal.

With five pitches out of the bullpen, Wolfram can manage against lefties and righties — a must in today’s game, considering the three-batter minimum for pitchers.

Rico Garcia, 2.84 ERA

Rico Garcia has been everywhere. His performances for Baltimore may have found him a landing spot. It will be hard to forget how he stranded the bases loaded at Fenway Park after inheriting them with no outs, but the right-hander pitched well in lower-stress situations, as well.

Garcia jumped between the Mets and Yankees before the Orioles claimed him off waivers. In 19 innings, he allowed just six walks with 20 strikeouts. However, his 4.03 FIP compared to a 2.84 ERA in Baltimore indicates he was the beneficiary of solid defense to take away hard contact (42.6% of the contact against Garcia in 2025 left bats at 95 mph or faster).

Garcia proved his ability to get hitters out from both sides of the plate, relying on a changeup with arm-side movement against lefties. (Garcia threw his changeup 77 times against left-handed hitters in September.)

Lefty hitters struggled to do much against that pitch. In the 18 plate appearances he used the changeup against a left-handed hitter in September, Garcia allowed three singles and forced a whiff rate of 50%. The average launch angle of the contact against his changeup was minus-1, meaning he predominantly forced ground balls.

Garcia, who allowed a home run in his final appearance of the season, quickly took over a high-leverage role for Baltimore, pitching in the seventh, eighth or ninth inning in 19 of 20 appearances. The 31-year-old remains under team control next season.

Kade Strowd, 1.71 ERA

Kade Strowd became the first player drafted by president of baseball operations Mike Elias to pitch in an Orioles uniform. He turned that into a strong debut in Baltimore, although there was certainly luck on his side.

The 28-year-old right-hander finished with a 1.71 ERA but posted a 3.40 FIP. Although that FIP is elevated compared to his ERA, it remains a respectable number and coincides with a strong rookie campaign. Strowd pitched 26 1/3 innings, striking out 24 batters and walking 13.

The walks were an issue, especially in August, when he conceded one walk in a span of four of five games. After he issued three free passes in his first appearance of September, Strowd improved his command. He walked two batters and struck out 15 in his final nine innings of 2025 — a dominant span that included just two earned runs.

Strowd found success with a fastball that averages 96 mph, but his cutter is his calling card. He forced whiffs on it 30% of the time. Strowd can mix in a sinker, curveball and sweeper, but his greatest success came from pounding the strike zone with heat. And, given the void of experienced arms in the bullpen heading into spring training, he is expected to receive the opportunity to make the Orioles out of camp.