Orioles' Jimenez facing rotation questions after another rough start

Ubaldo Jimenez has almost always been a bit of an enigma. When he's on, he's on. And when he's not, it makes you wonder if he was ever actually good to begin with.

At the moment, the Baltimore Orioles starter is facing questions on whether or not he should feel his rotation spot threatened.

"The only thing I can do is prepare for my next game," the 33-year-old told Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. "Whatever (the team's decision is on the rotation), I can't control that."

Jimenez got tagged for six earned runs on nine hits and two walks while retiring just 12 batters against the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.

In an especially disastrous fifth inning, Jimenez faced Robbie Grossman, Joe Mauer, Miguel Sano, and Max Kepler without retiring a batter before getting replaced by Tyler Wilson. By the time the inning ended, the Twins scored four runs and had come back to tie the game after trailing 5-0 at one point.

To show the extent of the hot-or-cold nature of Jimenez, he has made two starts this season in which he has lasted seven or more innings; against the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals. In his seven other starts, he hasn't made it beyond the fifth inning.

Monday's start lifted Jimenez's season ERA from an already-bad 6.52 to a horrendous 7.17. Interestingly though, his 2017 FIP dropped - though barely -from 6.76 to 6.72.

Of course, the Orioles don't have an abundance of starting depth to potentially usurp Jimenez. Alec Asher has made two starts in the 2017 season, and could be a likely fill-in if the Orioles go that route. Alternatively, Logan Verrett was signed this past offseason and made 12 starts last campaign for the New York Mets.