MINNEAPOLIS — A year ago, a projection for the Orioles’ playoff roster would’ve had no chance of being accurate.

A few days before the American League Division Series began, John Means injured his elbow and was ruled out for the start of the postseason. A pitcher who was expected to start a game for Baltimore was no longer on its roster.

With the regular season over, the Orioles are hoping for no surprises leading into Game 1 of the AL wild-card series Tuesday at Camden Yards against the Kansas City Royals, who clinched the No. 5 seed Sunday with a win and a Detroit Tigers loss.

One of the main decisions teams have to make when setting their 26-man playoff rosters is how many pitchers versus position players they’ll carry. During the regular season, clubs normally have the maximum of 13 pitchers given the grueling nature of a 162-game season. But in the postseason, with fewer games and more days off, carrying only 12 pitchers is an attractive option to gain more bench flexibility.

“It’s all possible,” manager Brandon Hyde said about the Orioles’ playoff roster construction. “We’ll have a roster meeting when we get back to town. Everything’s on the table right now. We don’t even know who we’re playing yet. A lot of things can factor into that.”

Of the eight wild-card teams last year, only one kept 13 pitchers. Five went with 12 pitchers, while two kept only 11. An argument for the Orioles going with 12 pitchers is to have a fuller bench to deploy pinch hitters and defensive replacements late in games. Contrastingly, having an extra pitcher could be important in extra innings (where there is no automatic runner like during the regular season) and if the series goes three games.

After Saturday’s win, Hyde said the club has mostly determined the group of position players it will carry in the first round of the playoffs. The team must set the roster Tuesday morning, and a new one can be set before each round of the postseason.

“I think it’s more pitching decisions with kind of how we’re gonna line up bullpen-wise,” he said.

Ahead of Game 1 of the AL wild-card series on Tuesday, here is a projection for the Orioles’ 26-man playoff roster — one with 12 pitchers and 14 hitters.

Starting pitchers (3): Corbin Burnes, Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer

This seems like a lock, although if Games 1 or 2 go awry, anything can happen.

Burnes will take the ball Game 1 opposite the Royals’ Seth Lugo or Cole Ragans. Hyde didn’t confirm Eflin would start Game 2, but he was acquired at the deadline to pitch playoff games and is clearly the Orioles’ second-best starting pitcher with Grayson Rodriguez out for the season with a shoulder muscle injury.

While Albert Suárez could be an option to start Game 3 on Thursday, Kremer has been stellar recently with a 2.98 ERA over his past eight starts. The right-hander was roughed up in his playoff debut last year against the Texas Rangers (six runs in 1 2/3 innings), but he’s pitched well in most other big games in his career, including last week’s playoff-clinching victory.

Right-handed relievers (4): Seranthony Domínguez, Yennier Cano, Jacob Webb, Matt Bowman

Three of these pitchers are locks: Domínguez, Cano and Webb. Domínguez is expected to serve as the Orioles’ closer, while Cano is Hyde’s primary setup man. Webb is a middle reliever whose platoon-neutral profile makes him a viable option in several roles.

Suárez appeared to be a likely option for the bullpen given his successful season as both a starter and reliever for the Orioles. But the veteran right-hander started Sunday and received a normal workload, making him unlikely to be rested enough for the beginning of the wild-card series. One reason to keep Suárez off the roster is to have a backup plan for Game 1 of the AL Division Series on Saturday. If the wild-card series goes three games, Burnes would only be on three days’ rest for the ALDS opener, making Suárez an option to start that game. If Suárez isn’t needed to start that game, he could still be on the ALDS or AL Championship Series rosters as a reliever.

Bowman is perhaps the last man in the bullpen given the Orioles are his fourth big league team this year and he joined the organization in mid-August as a minor league free agent. But he’s pitched well in Baltimore (3.45 ERA) and has a leg up on making it because of his success against right-handed hitters this season (.162 batting average, .632 OPS).

Left-handed relievers (5): Cionel Pérez, Danny Coulombe, Keegan Akin, Gregory Soto, Cade Povich

The first four southpaws are locks. The last one, Povich, might have pitched himself on the playoff roster with his stellar September.

Povich struggled for much of his rookie season, but he was excellent in September with a 2.60 ERA. He allowed two runs or fewer in four of his five starts, two of which have been scoreless. He could be the Orioles’ long reliever and a fifth lefty out of the pen — one more than the number of righties. If Burnes, Eflin or Kremer are bounced early from their starts, Povich could be a solid option to follow against a lineup that would presumably be loaded with left-handed hitters.

Povich could also be an option to start Game 1 of the ALDS — opposite Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in New York — if the wild-card series goes three games and he isn’t used too much during the first round. If Suárez and Povich are both on the wild-card roster and pitch in the series, it’s possible they wouldn’t be rested enough to start the ALDS opener. That would result in either Trevor Rogers or another pitcher who ended his season in Triple-A starting that contest, or a bullpen game — two less-than-ideal scenarios.

Catchers (2): Adley Rutschman, James McCann

The only question regarding the Orioles’ catchers is whether McCann starts behind the plate against left-handed pitchers. The Orioles will face at least one left-hander (Ragans) in the AL wild-card series.

Getting McCann, a right-handed hitter, in the lineup would be in place of Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn and Kjerstad — a trio of left-handed hitters who have combined to start only four games against traditional lefty starters in the second half. McCann has started 32 of the Orioles’ 43 games against lefties this season, but he hasn’t been a DH once.

If McCann is on the bench against a lefty starter, that could put Mullins in center field with Colton Cowser in left, Austin Slater in right and Anthony Santander at DH. Or Mullins could be on the bench with Cowser in center, Slater in left and Santander in right, while either O’Hearn or Kjerstad DH against the lefty.

Infielders (7): Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O’Hearn, Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday, Ramón Urías, Emmanuel Rivera, Gunnar Henderson

Mountcastle, O’Hearn, Westburg, Urías and Henderson are locks. The only way Holliday and Rivera aren’t on the roster is if the Orioles go with 13 position players instead of 14.

Rivera, who played in the World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks last year, provides value off the bench as a reliable corner infielder and a right-handed bench bat. He also had the best game of his career Saturday with four hits, two homers and four RBIs. Holliday’s rookie campaign didn’t go as expected, but he’s needed on the playoff roster as the backup behind Henderson at shortstop, a potential left-handed bat off the bench and a late-game pinch runner as one of the Orioles’ fastest players.

Outfielders (5): Colton Cowser, Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander, Austin Slater, Heston Kjerstad

The only question here is Kjerstad given his struggles in a small sample since returning from a concussion in mid-September. The top prospect has an average .714 career OPS, but he’s 6-for-29 with nine strikeouts since coming off the injured list. Leaving him off the roster, though, would give the Orioles only four traditional outfielders and reduce Hyde’s ability to maneuver late in games with one fewer left-handed bench bat.