Henderson exits with right side discomfort after robbing Bichette
O's star shortstop won't need MRI, scheduled to be re-evaluated Friday
Jake Rill
@JakeDRillSARASOTA, Fla. -- After Gunnar Henderson jumped to make a hit-robbing play on a ball off the bat of Bo Bichette in the top of the first inning Thursday afternoon, the Orioles¡¯ star shortstop landed awkwardly. He came down to the ground and used his glove arm to prevent a tumble.
Initially, Henderson stayed in the Grapefruit League game vs. the Blue Jays at Ed Smith Stadium, grounding out to first base to open the bottom of the first. However, the 23-year-old started to feel lower right side discomfort and was pulled at the start of the second.
Manager Brandon Hyde said Henderson exited for ¡°precautionary reasons.¡± He did not undergo an MRI -- nor is he scheduled to -- and he will be re-evaluated on Friday.
¡°In the first inning of a Spring Training game in February, we felt like the best thing to do was just let him go inside and look at it and relax,¡± Hyde said. ¡°We¡¯ll continue to monitor it, see how he is tomorrow.¡±
Henderson was a limited participant early in Spring Training last year, when he was dealing with left oblique soreness at the start of camp. But he recovered in time to be on Baltimore¡¯s Opening Day roster for the 2024 season.
It seems as if the Orioles are again playing it safe with one of their core players. However, Henderson¡¯s status will be worth tracking in the days to come, considering his importance to the team¡¯s lineup.
Henderson has never been placed on the injured list over three big league seasons. He played a team-high 159 games last year while batting .281 with 31 doubles, seven triples, 37 home runs, 92 RBIs and an .893 OPS. He was a first-time All-Star and finished fourth in American League MVP Award voting.
In 2023, Henderson was the AL Rookie of the Year and also won an AL Silver Slugger Award.
The O's are also currently without All-Star infielder Jordan Westburg, who is expected to be out for at least a few more days due to lower back soreness. Hyde called Westburg¡¯s absence from game action since Saturday precautionary as well.