The Orioles have had a rough start to the season to say the least, but they’ve finally begun to turn things around with seven wins in their last eight games. That still leaves them at 26-37 overall and 7.5 games back of a Wild Card spot, giving them long odds of actually fighting their way back into the playoff conversation this year. With that being said, their battered lineup does appear to be on the verge of getting some notable reinforcements. The first of those, as relayed Rich Dubroff off Baltimore Baseball, figures to be infielder Jordan Westburg.
Westburg was an All-Star last year amid a breakout campaign where he slashed an excellent .264/.312/.481 with a wRC+ of 125 as the Orioles’ primary third baseman. He collected 2.8 fWAR in just 107 games last year, posting an impressive season despite the fact that a hand fracture kept him out for much of the second half. That strong campaign led to some big expectations for him headed into his age-26 campaign, but he posted a somewhat middling .217/.265/.391 (86 wRC+) across 98 plate appearances this year before he was sidelined in April by a hamstring strain.
Despite his mediocre performance in that small sample early in the season, the Orioles will surely be delighted to have Westburg back, which Dubroff notes that interim manager Tony Mansolino told reporters is “likely” to happen this coming Tuesday. Orioles third basemen are collectively hitting just .243/.303/.305 (76 wRC+) so far this season, a figure that even Westburg’s lackluster start to the season would easily clear to say nothing of his 2024 performance. Ramon Urias has been tasked with serving in a regular role at the position since his own return from the injured list, and while his numbers are about league average overall he’s looked miscast (78 wRC+) in a regular role since returning from the IL. Perhaps Westburg’s return and Urias’s move back into a part-time role can add another quality regular to the lineup while also allowing Urias to be more impactful off the bench going forward.
Also expected back in the relatively near future is center fielder Cedric Mullins, who Dubroff relays Mansolino expects back in the lineup during the club’s coming homestand, which runs from June 10 to June 15. While that wording seems to imply he’ll be back more towards the end of this coming week, the return of Mullins will still be a welcome boost for the Orioles. His time on the injured list has caused a downgrade for the club both offensively and defensively, as Colton Cowser has been forced to slide over to center from left field to accommodate the addition of Dylan Carlson to the lineup on an everyday basis. In 27 games with the Orioles this year, Carlson has hit just .212/.274/.394 with a wRC+ of 89 and peripheral numbers that suggest he’s benefited from some good luck.
While moving Cowser back to his natural position and adding Mullins’s bat to the lineup over Carlson figures to be an unequivocal upgrade, it’s less clear what version of Mullins the Orioles will be getting when he returns. While he has an impressive 121 wRC+ overall on the season, Mullins hit an incredible .292/.432/.551 (184 wRC+) in his first 111 plate appearances this year but stumbled badly near the end of April and posted a paltry .174/.198/.348 (49 wRC+) slash line in his final 96 trips to the plate before going on the shelf with his own hamstring strain, which was fortunately less severe than the one suffered by Westburg. While Mullins should surely be expected to split the difference between that scorching start and his ice cold streak prior to injury, whether he trends more towards the positive or the negative side of that spectrum will have major consequences for Baltimore this year regardless of if they make it back to the postseason or not, as Mullins is arguably the team’s top trade piece.
Also working his way back from injury is outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who has been shelved since the middle of May due to a shoulder impingement. O’Neill’s first year in Baltimore had been a disappointing one in 24 games prior to the injury, as he hit just .188/.280/.325 in 93 plate appearances prior to hitting the shelf. His return to action could provide a boost to the lineup all the same, however, given that he’s just one year removed from a dazzling campaign in Boston where he crushed 31 homers in just 113 games. MLB.com notes that O’Neill began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk yesterday, and while it’s not entirely clear when the outfielder can be expected back in the fold it seems likely he remains on track to return within the next week or two.
