How quickly the tables can turn from “hope springs eternal” to “we’re so cooked,” eh?
While the bad news didn’t all come in one immediate rush as spring training kicked off like it did in Februrary of 2023 – when we learned that Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells, and John Means would all be unavailable for, at best, large swaths of the season basically the moment Mike Elias opened his mouth in Sarasota – it’s trickled through regardless, ultimately landing us in a similar – if slightly shallower – pool of despair.
First, the pitching. That was the big one last year. While the inconsistent offense played a huge part in the Birds failing to defend their AL East title down the stretch – as well as to end their 10-year playoff win drought – plenty of games were lost due to bullpen struggles in the absence of Felix Bautista at the end, and to pitchers not named Corbin Burnes toeing the rubber at the beginning. With Burnes hell-bent on returning home to Arizona (hey, good for him), and Bradish a mid-season addition if we’re lucky, the O’s have their hopes pinned on Grayson Rodriguez turning into the Ace that was promised.
Alas, instead, he still appears destined to be the latest in a long line of Orioles pitching prospects that could just never put it all together and/or stay healthy long enough to do so. Rodriguez’s MLB debut was delayed back in 2023 due to a lat strain. A very similar issue (described as “right shoulder and back”) cropped up last year and he made his final appearance on July 31. We got word that he had tweaked his delivery during his rehab in the hopes of avoiding another recurrence, but the result appears to have been just shifting the strain down his arm.
In here, Orioles’ Grayson Rodriguez has modified his delivery this spring to put less stress on his lat — the muscle he’s strained twice in the past three years forcing him to miss significant time. https://t.co/UkPhnyXum9 pic.twitter.com/YUniW8tgd0
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) February 27, 2025
In his most recent – and what ended up being his final – start in Grapefruit League action, his velocity was noticeably diminished, and though he downplayed the significance of this in his postgame comments, as O’s fans, we all knew what was coming. The official update yesterday was “inflammation” in his elbow, and that he’ll receive a cortisone shot, resume throwing in a week or two, and begin the season on the IL.
“Having some discomfort in the back of his elbow, so we are still getting multiple opinions,” Brandon Hyde told reporters. “It’s not a ligament issue, so we’re not concerned about that. But it’s going to result in some missed time. We’re getting the results, we’re talking to multiple people about what the treatment, etc. is as of right now. The timeline, we’re not sure on it.”
It’s not the ligament folks, we swear!
One could reasonably pin their hopes on the fact that it was a cortisone shot he received, as opposed to that harbinger of doom, platelet-rich plasma, but…hope in one hand, bird poo in the other; see which one fills first.
Ok, well, the rotation is in big trouble. Maybe we can make up for that with a banging’ offense and a shut-down bullpen, right?
Let’s first tackle the latter. Elias and Co.’s big move to bolster the ‘pen this offseason, in addition to hoping (there’s that word again) Bautista can recapture that pre-injury magic, was to acquire righty Andrew Kittredge. This was a fine move; Kittredge has had success in the AL East, spending the first seven years of his career with Tampa Bay before posting a 2.80 ERA in 70 IP for the Cardinals last year. But he is a bit injury prone; 2021 remains his only other season having pitched over 50 innings (he underwent TJS that year), and he totaled just 31 between 2022-23.
A couple weeks ago, his knee swelled up during a bullpen session, and we haven’t seen him since; he’ll be joining GrayRod on the IL to start the campaign, and will be out for at least a few months after undergoing arthroscopic surgery the other day.
As far as potential replacements, the seemingly ageless David Robertson remains on the market for some reason. Despite turning 40 in less than a month, Robertson has been lights out for the past three seasons, posting ERAs of 2.40, 3.03, and 3.00 in 63-72 IP per season between the Cubs, Phillies, Mets, Marlins, and Rangers. Rumor has the Cardinals sniffing around, but you’d like to think the chance to compete in the AL East again, combined with the Orioles’ newfound deep pockets, could be enough to entice him to come to Baltimore.
Why this hasn’t happened yet is beyond me. But again, he hasn’t signed anywhere else yet either, so perhaps there are factors of which I’m unaware.
Over on BlueSky, Dan Sanchez has been beating the drum for Spencer Turnbull. The 32-year-old former Phillie and Tiger has experience both starting and relieving, and put up a 2.65 ERA in 54 IP in Philly last year (seven starts) but was shut down in June with Grayson-itis (lat injury). He also had TJS which caused him to miss all of 2022. So who knows if he is healthy or not, but he seems worth taking a flyer on.
As for the rotation, old pal Kyle Gibson is still out there. Nobody is ever going to confuse “Dad” with Corbin Burnes, but his 15 wins and 192 IP in 2023 were certainly welcome. The guy is a lock for 30 starts, and could slide to long relief if Rodriguez magically comes back, or American hitters really can’t figure out Tomoyuki Sugano, or Cade Povich really shows up as SLIM, or whatever else. I’d welcome a reunion with Gibby at this point.
Now for the offense. The news there hasn’t been nearly as depressing as on the pitching side, but it certainly hasn’t been all sunshine and roses either. Jordan Westburg apparently had “a soft mattress” at his Air BnB in Sarasota, which gave him back spasms and caused him to miss the first few weeks of Grapefruit League games. He’s been in the lineup recently though, so we can all breathe at least a small sigh of relief there.
Then there’s Tyler O’Neill, signed to backfill the loss of Anthony Santander (and inspire a true shift to the Sun’s Out, Guns Out Culture in B’More).
Tyler O’Neill is back in #orioles lineup. His influence on the club is evident. pic.twitter.com/Zx90kkfrd4
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) March 9, 2025
The muscles are all very impressive, but O’Neill has been injury-plagued for his entire career – he’s played over 100 games just twice in seven seasons. The other day, he was scratched from the lineup due to “sore ribs.” How he got those is anybody’s guess, but he was back in the lineup on Sunday, so we’ve got that going for us, for now.
The real concern is, of course, Gunnar Henderson. He strained his side lunging for a line drive on February 27 and has been out with a strained intercostal muscle since.
Here's the leaping play made yesterday by #Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who then experienced lower right side discomfort and exited an inning later. https://t.co/JXESLQeNhc pic.twitter.com/k9gIPab0yl
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) February 28, 2025
This is typically a several-week injury, but has a tendency to linger or recur, from what I can gather. Henderson could realistically get into some games at the end of March and be good to go for Opening Day, but the goal should be to make sure he is completely healed and minimize the chances of this popping up again during the season. In the meantime, Jackson Holliday or Jordan Westburg could play shortstop, Jorge Mateo might be ready sooner than we think, and guys like Emmanuel Rivera or Livan Soto could also fill in.
While it’s far from ideal to not have Henderson in the lineup March 27 in Toronto, the overall level of concern here is low. However, when piled on with *waves arms frantically* all of this other stuff, it only adds to the impending sense of doom.
Someone get Richie Bancells out of retirement, man!
Yankees Have Their Own Issues
If there’s any sliver of good news to talk about, it’s that the injury bug isn’t discriminating when it comes to the AL East’s two 2024 playoff teams.
The New York Yankees, coming off a division title, and AL pennant (and World Series loss, HA!) are dealing with their own host of issues.
Most alarmingly for the Bronx Bandwagoners, Gerrit Cole has been recommended to have Tommy John Surgery.
Gerrit Cole has been recommended to have Tommy John surgery, per @JimBowdenGM
The Yankees are waiting on a second opinion to confirm pic.twitter.com/QsNKR8tCYI
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 10, 2025
As a pessimistic Orioles fan, there’s always the nagging thought that said “second opinion” will be more rosy for Cole. While it would be nice to just beat the tar out of him rather than see him injured, here’s the deal: misery loves company. Sorry not sorry.
They’ve also lost 2024 AL Rookie of the Year (/eyeroll) Luis Gil until at least June with a lat injury and Giancarlo Stanton‘s arms are apparently falling off. Carlos Rodon and Marcus Stroman aren’t getting any younger either.
If Cole indeed goes under the knife, Brian Cashman isn’t likely to sit on his hands, but for now, the Yankees preseason win forecast has gone from 91.5 to 88.5 or 89.5, depending on where you look (the O’s are at 87.5).
Don’t look now, but Boston is at 86.5 after acquiring Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman. The BoSox are currently at +350 to win the division, so it might be a good time to pounce if you’re into that kinda thing.
Of course, Crochet, while quite a beast, pitched a career-high 146 innings last year. Can he build on that? Time will tell.
Somehow we’re gonna end up with the Rays being in the hunt in September, aren’t we?
For now, it looks like the American League East in 2025 is going to be a battle of who can keep the most of their pets’ heads on their necks.
