Henderson (side) to take weekend off as O's remain cautious

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The Orioles will continue to be cautious with one of their banged-up star players over the next few days.

Gunnar Henderson, who exited Thursday¡¯s Grapefruit League game vs. the Blue Jays at Ed Smith Stadium due to lower right side discomfort, was still feeling sore on Friday, per manager Brandon Hyde, who said the 23-year-old shortstop will take the weekend off to rest. Henderson has not undergone an MRI, and there are still no plans to get one.

¡°He¡¯s a little bit better today,¡± Hyde said. ¡°We¡¯re kind of just letting this calm down.¡±

Henderson jumped to make a hit-robbing play on a ball off the bat of Toronto¡¯s Bo Bichette in the top of the first inning on Thursday afternoon, landing a bit awkwardly as he moved back and to his right.

Initially, Henderson stayed in the game, grounding out to first base to open the bottom of the first. However, he then started to feel discomfort and was pulled at the start of the second.

Hyde cited ¡°precautionary reasons¡± for Henderson¡¯s removal, indicating it was not a major cause for concern.

¡°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.¡±

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 has been out this week due to lower back soreness. Hyde called Westburg¡¯s absence from game action since last Saturday precautionary as well, noting on Friday that the 26-year-old is ¡°improving¡± and feels better than he did Thursday.