SARASOTA, Fla. — This is the sort of problem Mike Elias and Brandon Hyde like to categorize as the good kind. It’s the sort that will leave them scratching their heads at the puzzle ahead of them — with more good pieces available than might fit.

The starting rotation, barring injuries, appears set. Hyde, the Orioles’ manager, said as much Friday. But with each strikeout left-hander Cade Povich recorded in three innings of Baltimore’s 5-2 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates, it begged the question: Is that rotation really set?

It probably is. After all, putting too much weight on an early-spring start is a dangerous habit.

But don’t count out a motivated Povich — who finished his second outing of the spring with six strikeouts, one walk and one hit — to force Hyde and Elias into an even more difficult decision. After Saturday’s appearance, Povich smiled. Too bad it was only spring, he joked.

“Other than throwing a perfect game or no-hitter, you can’t really get much more perfect than that for three innings of spring,” Povich said. “We wanted to come in here working on some stuff we didn’t get to last time, and [we were] able to do that.”

The rotation competition doesn’t appear to be much of a competition, considering there are five established arms anticipated to break camp with the Orioles. Two of them were offseason additions: right-handers Tomoyuki Sugano and Charlie Morton. Elias, Baltimore’s general manager, added Zach Eflin at last year’s trade deadline. And Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer are expected to round out the group.

Elsewhere, right-handers Albert Suárez and Roansy Contreras are out of options (Suárez is expected to remain as a swing-man bullpen type). And left-hander Trevor Rogers and right-hander Chayce McDermott are behind schedule through injuries, leaving them out of the opening day equation.

That leaves Povich in a unique place compared to the rest of the available starting options. He’s the only non-entrenched starter with minor league options remaining — and that could work against him as Elias maneuvers the roster.

“Competition is good in general. I think it’s what makes teams good overall, too,” Povich said. “I feel like championship teams, there’s a lot of guys in there competing for spots. So it’s good, but we also have a lot of older guys, and they spread knowledge. So, listening to them and hearing from them has helped me, and ultimately I’m trying to take in what I’ve learned from them, what I’ve learned last September about myself, and just doing the most to try to make the team.”

There could be the possibility of rolling with a six-man rotation, thus keeping Povich in the majors to begin the season should he not surpass one of the five ahead of him. But Elias said, with off days in the first month of the season, it generally is more prudent to carry an extra bullpen arm than a starter.

Povich performed at his best during the final month of the 2024 season, and Hyde said the biggest difference between that spell and the earlier up-and-down results was his ability to command his pitches.

Povich walked three or more batters in five of his first eight starts last year. In his five September starts, he did so once. In his final five starts, he combined for a 2.60 ERA with 32 strikeouts and eight walks.

“I thought he showed a lot of confidence the last month of the year,” Hyde said, and that has carried over into spring training.

On Saturday, Povich used his wide pitch mix to good effect. He has put particular focus on his changeup, and he caught one Pirates batter looking at strike three against it. Catcher Adley Rutschman said the changeup wasn’t sharp during their pregame bullpen session, but they wound up throwing “more changeups than we were expecting” because of how Povich’s command cemented in the first inning.

“We got out there, and it was pretty lights out. Just a gamer,” Rutschman said. “He was dotting his fastball and throwing his offspeed in two-strike counts for competitive misses there to get some strikeouts. I was really impressed by him today. Just looked like he’s had a really good demeanor on the mound.”

On Friday, Eflin pointed out that the Orioles will need more than five starting pitchers to get through 162 games. He’s right. Injuries struck the Orioles’ arms frequently last year, which prompted Povich to earn as much playing time as he received.

Povich struggled at times, as many rookies do. He held a 6.58 ERA at the end of August. But September showed another side of Povich, one that commanded the strike zone better. And, early in camp, Povich is at least forcing Elias and Hyde into deliberating what could be a problem, even if it’s the “good” kind.

“It’s been awesome to watch,” Rutschman said of Povich’s development. “Everyone knows how good he is. But, just getting comfortable pitching in the big leagues, knowing his stuff plays and that he can get guys out with the stuff he has and he doesn’t have to be anything other than who he is — that’s what I felt like you kind of saw today. Him being comfortable in that role.”