Roberts won’t be coming off the DL any time soon

Brian Roberts coming up lame after stealing second base in just the Birds’ third game of the season was heart-wrenching for most Orioles fans.

I’ll be honest – up to THAT point, I would have argued vehemently with the popular wisdom that Roberts is “injury prone.” From 2004-2009, he never played fewer than 138 games. Then the concussion happened in 2010 and most of his issues in the following years stemmed from that one incident.

Then last year, he hurt his hip – OK, so that was a single injury on top of the concussions. Still not “injury prone” to me (though I’ll admit that I’m a bit biased – I’m a huge Roberts fan).

When he had to be carried off the field in Tampa last week though, I was forced to accept it – the guy just can’t stay healthy. We got some good news when we learned that what had looked like a catastrophic knee injury was just a strained hamstring, but it looks like B.Rob still won’t be back any time soon.

According to Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun, Roberts likely won’t come off the DL on April 20, when he is first eligible to.

Roberts needed to be carried off the field after a stolen base April 4 at Tampa Bay, and he went on the DL the next day. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said it would be a reach to think Roberts will be ready to return when he’s first eligible to be activated on April 20.

The O’s desperately miss Brian’s production from the second base spot. He started the season 5-for-12 with a double. In his absence…yuck.

Ryan Flaherty picked up his first hit of the season (at a great time, of course) Wednesday night, and is 1-for-18 with nine strikeouts. He looks lost at the dish.

Alexi Casilla is 1-for-8 with three strikeouts.

Without Roberts out of the lineup, the bottom of the order – as well as the 2B position – has become an offensive black hole.