NEW YORK — The Orioles’ top pitching prospect, Trey Gibson, will be thrown in the deep end for his major league debut.

The 23-year-old right-hander, who arrived in New York on Saturday, is scheduled to start against the Yankees on Sunday, manager Craig Albernaz announced Saturday. Gibson will become the first Orioles starting pitcher to make his major league debut at Yankee Stadium.

“We just want him to be Trey. … It’s going to be a fun day for him, and I just want to tell him when I see him to embrace the moment, have some fun with it," Albernaz said. “He’s put a lot of work in throughout his whole life to get to this point.”

Baltimore’s pitching has been thinned due to injuries. Right-hander Zach Eflin is out for the season after undergoing elbow surgery, and right-hander Dean Kremer will miss a few weeks with a quadriceps strain. Left-hander Trevor Rogers is on the 15-day injured list because of the flu.

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Gibson is Baltimore’s top-ranked prospect, according to Baseball America. He carries a 4.01 ERA for Triple-A Norfolk. Although Gibson’s four-seam fastball doesn’t grade well in scouting reports, his shift to a sinker-heavy approach led to improvement and allowed the undrafted free agent to shoot up prospect rankings.

He couples his sinker with impressive secondary offerings, including a “death ball.” The pitch has downward, deceptive break.

“You can’t be a starter in the minor leagues, let alone the big leagues, without having more than the fastball,” Albernaz said. “You need to have elite off-speed offerings, which he does. To me, it’s being able to land those in the strike zone, because hitters have to honor them.”

Gibson earned Baltimore’s minor league pitcher of the year award in 2025 after leaping from High-A to Triple-A. Across the three levels, he produced a 4.26 ERA and 1.213 WHIP.

“He has great stuff, and I want him to trust his stuff and be the best version of him,” Albernaz said.

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The challenge in his debut will be considerable. Gibson will face a Yankees lineup that is among the best in baseball, and he’ll go toe to toe with left-hander Max Fried.

Gibson’s path is unique. He went undrafted but signed with the Orioles. He pitched well at Liberty University in his freshman and sophomore seasons but didn’t pitch as a junior. He popped in the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2023, and the Orioles pounced.

The Orioles announced two additional roster moves. They optioned right-hander Tyler Wells and designated Albert Suárez for assignment to make room for lefties Dietrich Enns and Nick Raquet in the bullpen.

The decisions add fresh bullpen arms. Albernaz said Wells will remain a reliever in the minors before he returns to the Orioles rather than stretching out as a starting pitcher again.