Orioles right-hander Felix Hernandez exited his outing Tuesday with discomfort in his pitching elbow, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com was among those to report. The Orioles will know more about the injury Wednesday after they re-evaluate Hernandez, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com tweets.
Despite a fantastic run with the Mariners from 2005-19, the soon-to-be 35-year-old Hernandez was only able to secure a minor league contract during the offseason. It’s the second straight minors pact for the former Cy Young winner, who inked a deal with the Braves heading into 2020. King Felix didn’t pitch at all last year, though, instead opting out because of concerns over COVID-19.
Hernandez is nowhere near the pitcher he was during his heyday, having combined for a 5.82 ERA in 227 1/3 innings during his two most recent seasons, but he does have a legitimate chance to earn a spot in Baltimore’s rotation if he’s healthy. Alongside Hernandez, John Means, Keegan Akin, Jorge Lopez, Dean Kremer, Matt Harvey and Wade LeBlanc are among O’s who are at least competing for starting jobs.
nooooo
Give it up TIN MAN
Aretha Franklin uncovered gem: R-E-T-I-R-E.
Time to retire Felix.
Sling Felix
Happy trails to you.
Well that sucks.
Time to sign Cashner
You are Cashner’s agent, aren’t you? Confess now!
Nope, just a friend of the family.
Is it Cole Hamels time?
Don’t give them any ideas.
Dang
If that is the Baltimore starting staff, God help them!
They are better than you think. Means, Kramer, and Akin are legitimate starting pitchers. Lopez is good coming out of the bullpen. They do need 2 more starters. Perhaps Zimmerman who was not listed.
Bruce Zimmermann is indeed having a great Spring Training thus far: 9IP, 1H, 3BB, 10 K. But average quality of batters faced thus far is slightly below average AA players per Baseball Reference. Means and Kremer seem legit, hoping Akin turns out legit though he could go way of Hess. Zimmermann, J. Lopez, M. Harvey, LeBlanc, and Eshelman will hopefully fill in well at the back end…
As an O’s fan I appreciate the pushback. O’s fans will have the last laugh on the trolls here. As for Kremer and Akin, I’d say they ha e legit potential but they’re not there yet. Relying on them for a full season is a big ask.
https://youtu.be/91Yak03OoQ4
I came across this guy’s preview of the orioles, he had some nice but realistic things to say about those O’s starting pitchers.
Why is this a headline .. he is washed up last 3 years
Because he was still one of the best to do it in the 2000’s. Relax casual.
Imagine coming to a website about MLB transactions and the catchphrase “if it’s whispered, we hear it”, creating an account, logging in, just to complain about the website delivering on the promise that makes it such a popular website.
Best. Reply. Ever. -Disadvantage.
I think it’s because he exited an outing with right elbow discomfort.
Lol that didn’t go how you planned
I feel bad for him. Hopefully he doesn’t need TJS.
If he does, he should pass and use the time picking out a rocking chair. He’s finished.
Remember, we cant shorthand Tommy John with TJS anymore. You might make someone upset.
Tommy John is an old white guy, so I think it’s ok.
base,
Projecting?
Increases probability that O’s opening day starter will be BIG SEXY!!!!
Rick Porcello is still available.
Porcello in Camden Yards? We could see a record for HR allowed in one season by a pitcher. Orioles, sign this guy!
And it would only take four starts!
Would at least be entertaining.
I have a theory that the same guys who clamor a guy should retire and/or are washed up are the same one still wearing their class rings and varsity jackets from High School, even though they stopped fitting 15 years ago.
His job his entire life has been to throw a ball, as long as someone is willing to pay him to do said work, and he wants to; who am I to say otherwise? Besides the fact he had a pretty good spring last year before opting out, is one of the best pitchers in the past 20 years, and is still probably even at this stage of his career better than 10 other guys most teams throw out there.
I watched the Red Sox rotation last year, King Felix is hands down better than 9/10 of the guy they threw out there. Cut the man some slack, hope it’s not serious and I am rooting he puts together a solid campaign to stuff all the haters.
Not to mention, it requires an insane amount of competitive drive to become a King Felix caliber pitcher in the first place, he probably doesn’t just say “welp! That’s it for me!” the moment his stuff isn’t what it once was. I’d have to imagine he is pouring hours and putting in work to be the best version of himself that he can possibly be before simply walking away from a game that, as you mentioned, involves the one thing he has done his entire life.
its a shame he opted out. I think he might’ve pulled a Anibal in Atlanta.
I think it will be interesting to see how all the opt-out guys play this year. So much is made of going from sixty games to a full season–what about the guys who refused to play at all? That Rockie already opted out–prob cuz he knows his career ended three years ago.
Great pitcher. Money guy. Time to hang them up? What is trying to come back for?
Because playing baseball is fun and someone will still pay him to do it?
well thats it.
Hail to the King. Hope he can continue to pitch and prove the naysayers wrong.
King of the Birds!
Is that really King Felix’s picture attached to this article? If so, he’s got some city miles on him…he looks completely different than he did than he did with Seattle. Wow!
I thought the same thing when I saw the picture a few days ago. The camera person probably whispered “blink twice if you need help” judging by his face.
No bueno
I really hope he won’t need TJ. He’s had a great career but I hope this isn’t how it ends.
Question
Does he get in the HOF?
not unless he comes back and has one or two more good years
I think the peak years get him there.
I doubt Felix gets in the HOF. Doesn’t help he opted out in 2020 with no underlying health conditions.
wish felix the best but if he needs tjs he is most likely done he’s been trending down for a few years now and now add in possible tjs, that’s going to be a tough hill to climb for him. though hope felix proves me wrong and comes back strong but i just don’t see it
If this is the end – is King Felix a HOF’er?
Probably, but he didn’t reach the 300 wins mark. I think that is why he is still pitching today. But he is not a solid HOF pick.
Probably not. 50.1 BWAR, Terrific peak, but a painful (sorry) fade. If he’d just been able to keep it together the last few years at a 2WAR pace…but he’s an aggregate .4 BWAR from 2016-2019. He’s going to get plenty of votes but I think he falls a little short. His similarity scores are interesting–all very good pitchers, even aces for a time, but not quite HOF.
i say he is i mean harold baines is a hof’er so the bar for getting in is set pretty low now.
@brodie-bruce… your name is incredible but your take is bad. Harold Baines isn’t the new hall of fame standard, he’s just Reinsdorf’s last flex before he dies.
I think so. When judging a borderline case like this with a pitcher, I circle back to Jack Morris. While Morris was durable, almost remarkably so, he was really only a slightly above league average pitcher. I’m not necessarily a “peak” guy for the HOF, as I do value longevity, but Felix was a much better pitcher than Morris was, so I don’t think you can keep him out.
While we’re at it, how on earth is Jack Morris a HOFer and Tommy John isn’t?
Post season heroics? Although he got rocked with Toronto. The Twins run was epic.
And Morris was the horse of his era. He was a virtual guarantee to save the pen every 5 days.
Yeah! Prob should’ve added that I wasn’t saying he should or shouldn’t be in the Hall, more of just an observation.
Mickey Lolich was better than Jack Morris too.
How so? Almost the exact same ERA+.
Morris has more wins. Morris had Cy votes 9 times, Lolich 2.
That is a tough one. I think his peak is HOF worthy, but his overall career isn’t. He was pretty badly hurt, too, by having an awful Mariners offense backing him up for way too many years, nowhere near the wins he needs to seriously be considered.
Pretty crazy that Felix is the active loss leader haha
mrmackey,
Mkay, no way in hell.
The King will be back…
Probably clears the way for Wade LeBlanc and Matt Harvey to make the team.
Maybe time to call it a career for Felix. Too many miles on the arm and it looks like the tread is now bare
Maybe both of them. Or Tyler Wells being kept (Sceroler returned) while LeBlanc agrees to pitch at AAA for the time being.
Possibly a blessing in disguise if he has TJS. He had a known ligament issue back when he signed his extension with the Mariners. It was a big enough risk that had a basically free additional year built into the deal if he missed time with an elbow injury. He very well may come back stronger although his age is getting up there.
The King is dead… long live the king.
A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!
His arm was dead last spring also. Based on how thick he has gotten over the last few years and the wear and tear he’s already given that arm, he should just retire. He’s not even keeping himself in good enough shape to give his body a shot at this point in his career. Much respect for his early career but it’s time to say goodbye
He is so focused on 200 wins and 3000 strikeouts, it isn’t even funny. He’ll pitch until his arm falls off to reach his personal goals.
It’s been hard to watch Felix the last five years. After watching how great he was all those years, it was hard to watch him not be able to get through five innings. As much as I’d like to see him continue to pitch, the band box that his Camden Yards is the last place he needs to go. That porch in left field is literally Little League depth.
I’ve been eligible to retire for three years. Co-workers often as me, “why are you still here?” My answer is always the same: Because I still have fun coming to work everyday.
The King should play ball as long as he wants to.
Agreed, but how much fun have the past five seasons been for his fans?
Felix has fans who wish he would retire and I have co-workers who wish I would retire. I couldn’t care less and neither should he.