The Orioles brought Félix Hernández, Matt Harvey and Wade LeBlanc into camp on Minor League deals this winter knowing full well all three likely weren’t to head north with the club come Opening Day. They just didn’t know which reclamation projects would and which wouldn’t.

That’s clear now that Hernández has opted out of his Minor League deal, according to MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman and other reports, bringing the O’s pitching plans more clearly into focus. Hernández, who had been dealing with right elbow soreness since mid-March, simply ran out of time to make the club.

The Orioles have not confirmed the report.

The 34-year-old Hernández would’ve earned $1 million had he gone north with the Orioles and is now a free agent. He last pitched in a regular-season game in 2019 for the Mariners, for whom he was a six-time All-Star, two-time ERA champion and the ’10 AL Cy Young Award winner. Hernández competed for a job in the Braves’ rotation last spring, then elected not to play the season due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

The veteran right-hander’s departure should allow the rebuilding Orioles to announce their full rotation in the coming days, with two spots to fill behind John Means, Harvey and Bruce Zimmermann. Jorge López and Dean Kremer are projected to earn those spots, with LeBlanc profiling as swingman/bulk-innings depth out of the bullpen.

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