BALTIMORE -- When Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde arrived for his pregame press conference on Monday afternoon, he pulled out a piece of paper to read off updates on his team¡¯s injured players. The list has been lengthy all season.
It keeps getting longer.
Infielder Jordan Westburg (left hamstring strain) and catcher Gary Sánchez (right wrist inflammation) were placed on the 10-day injured list ahead of the Orioles¡¯ 4-3 win over the Yankees in the series opener at Camden Yards. Infielder Emmanuel Rivera and catcher Maverick Handley had their contracts selected from Triple-A Norfolk to fill the spots on the 26-man roster.
Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (right elbow inflammation/right lat strain) and outfielder Colton Cowser (left thumb fracture) were transferred to the 60-day IL to make room for Rivera and Handley on Baltimore¡¯s 40-man roster, which became full with the addition of left-hander Walter Pennington, who was claimed off waivers from Texas and optioned to Triple-A.
The Orioles¡¯ MLB injured list now features 13 players with the additions of Westburg and S¨¢nchez, tied with the Dodgers for the most of any Major League team.
¡°It can be deflating, you know?¡± first baseman/designated hitter Ryan O¡¯Hearn said. ¡°It¡¯s kind of the nature of the game. We experienced it a lot last year, especially. Hopefully, we can avoid more guys dropping like that.¡±
Westburg hasn¡¯t been at full strength for much of the season, as Hyde said the 26-year-old was banged up and had an ¡°upper-body injury¡± earlier in the month, without going into more specifics. In addition, the 2024 American League All-Star strained his left hamstring on Saturday, reporting soreness after playing in both games of Baltimore¡¯s split doubleheader at Detroit.
Westburg didn¡¯t play in Sunday¡¯s finale vs. the Tigers, then Hyde said he was ¡°day to day¡± despite not being in Monday¡¯s lineup. Shortly before first pitch, the Orioles announced the decision to put Westburg on the IL.
¡°Hopefully, it¡¯s not too long,¡± Hyde said. ¡°Hopefully, it¡¯s not much more than the 10 days. He¡¯s been playing beat up all year. He¡¯s been trying to grind through it. We gave him some days off. Then, he tweaked his hammy a little bit a couple of days ago on a throw in the bottom of the eighth.
¡°So hopefully, get the hammy right, get the body right and then be good to go for the last five months.¡±
Although Westburg is hitting only .217, his bat was beginning to heat up. He went 9-for-29 (.310) with two doubles, one triple, one home run and two RBIs in his past seven games after going 0-for-26 over his previous seven.
S¨¢nchez was twice hit by a pitch during Sunday¡¯s 7-0 loss at Detroit, but the 32-year-old backup had been dealing with a ¡°stress reaction¡± in his wrist prior to that, per Hyde.
¡°It¡¯s just from swinging the bat,¡± Hyde said. ¡°He¡¯s been getting treatment on it and trying to play through it. And then he played two days in a row in Detroit, and it was sore today.¡±
While Westburg is sidelined, Rivera could help boost a Baltimore offense in need of a jolt. The 28-year-old corner infielder hit .308 (20-for-65) with two doubles and 13 RBIs in 17 games with Triple-A Norfolk, and he batted .313 (20-for-64) with three doubles, one triple, four home runs and 14 RBIs over 27 games for the Orioles last season.
This is Handley¡¯s first time on an active big league roster. The 27-year-old backstop was the Orioles¡¯ sixth-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, and he¡¯ll now get an opportunity to back up Rutschman in S¨¢nchez¡¯s absence.
Handley hit .346 (18-for-52) with six doubles, one triple, one home run and five RBIs in 15 Triple-A games this season.