10:34am: Manager Brandon Hyde told the O’s beat this morning that Cowser will miss six to eight weeks at minimum (via Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner).
9:00am: The Orioles announced Monday that outfielder Colton Cowser has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a fractured left thumb. A timetable for his return was not specified. Cowser suffered the injury last night while sliding into first base on a close play; he was ruled out (video link). Fellow outfielder Dylan Carlson has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk in Cowser’s place.
It’s a sour start to the season for Cowser, last year’s runner-up in American League Rookie of the Year voting. He’s posted just a .125/.222/.313 slash through his first 18 plate appearances and will now be looking at an absence of some note while his hand mends.
Cowser enjoyed a monster spring, tallying 52 plate appearances with a .364/.462/.568 batting line, two homers and three doubles. The former No. 5 overall pick out of Sam Houston hit .242/.321/.447 with 24 homers, 24 doubles, three triples, nine steals, a 9.3% walk rate, a 30.7% strikeout rate and plus defense across all three outfield spots last year.
In Cowser’s place, the O’s will turn to Carlson, whom they signed over the winter on a one-year, $975K deal. Like Cowser, Carlson is a former top pick (No. 33 overall by the Cardinals in 2016) and top prospect. Things never fully panned out for the switch-hitter in St. Louis, however. Carlson looked on the cusp of a breakout in 2021 when he slashed .266/.343/.437 with 18 homers as a 22-year-old, but he followed that with a .225/.309/.341 output over the next three seasons. The Cards shipped him to the Rays in exchange for reliever Shawn Armstrong at last year’s trade deadline. Armstrong was designated for assignment by St. Louis in August. Carlson was non-tendered by Tampa Bay over the winter.
Still only 26 years old, Carlson can handle all three outfield spots. His status as a switch-hitter with versatility on the defensive side of things will give the O’s plenty of flexibility when writing out the lineup or making in-game substitutions. Carlson is a much, much better hitter from the right side of the plate (.285/.361/.431) than from the left side (.219/.300/.355), which could set the stage for a some form of platoon with Heston Kjerstad in left field. The O’s also have righty-swinging Ramon Laureano in the mix for outfield time, though either Carlson or Laureano could also see some DH time against lefties over Ryan O’Hearn.
Dumb decision (as always) to head first it into 1B
What can I say thumb decision (drums kick in)
Almost impossible to slide feet first into first on pickoff so I assume you have actually never played baseball. You can’t go in standing on a close play, as it makes tag too easy.
Did he get hurt on a pickoff play or trying to get a single? Very different scenarios. Wish the article was more specific.
Headfirst slide into 1B trying to beat out a single. Pitcher running to the bag.
Then definitely a bonehead move
Not really. Look at the number of injuries resulting from head first slides—especially at 1B. There is a greater chance of collisions/spiking/sprains/breaks/ etc. 1B has the most bodies in motion towards it, as 1B is always game for balls batted in fair play/fair territory/even foul (if a runner is on). So, sliding towards a base amongst chaos is always risky business.
From this workout bench (not a couch), common sense dictates that diving headfirst into other grown athletes that are charging toward the same target (in a non contact sport) is unnecessary, and not worth letting your team down with an extended injury absence. How many of us would prefer a single vs. the amount of production Cowser could have provided during the injury/rebab/catching up to game speed time? Would you? The next time I’m on my couch, I’ll ask myself the same question. The answer will come easily to me. Thanks for the insightful reply. +1 rec
You are correct Hotdog. Don’t feel you need to defend your opinion
The George Costanza comeback line! That made me laugh so hard.
His wife is in a coma
Lmao “from this workout bench”, with a name like one bite hot dog I’m sure you’re getting a workout
“Easy for you to say”…It’s also pretty “easy” for professional baserunning coaches to constantly tell players not to slide into first base, since they literally do it everyday.
While I don’t disagree about 1st, I’m surprised no one is mentioning how this is the same hand he just recovered from and it’s not like he was stepped on. It was a normal slide. Would this have happened if he was stealing 2nd? Was his hand fully healed? Will this affect him long term?
I was there for Carlson’s home run on opening day, hopefully he can figure himself out in the league.
Where?
Thanks, I hate it.
At least we have Kjerstad, who can step into a full time role now.
Kjerstad has potential to be just as good as any of the O’s talented young stars just needs consistent playing time
100%
He looked like a budding star prior to his concussion issues last year.
That’s who they should be turning to, not Dylan Carlson. About the only way for a blocked Orioles prospect to find consistent playing time is for another prospect to get injured.
Down 7 pitchers, 1 all star and 1 MVP candidate.
🐍 BIT!
Dylan Carlson is only 26, wow…
Feels like he’s been around a lot longer. It’s your time to shine Dylan!
Kjerstad should get most of the playing time. Carlson will probably only start against lefties.
But yeah, it does feel like Carlson should be like 30 lol.
“Dylan..only 26”..That almost sounds impossible since Dylan has been around forever. If I couldn’t tell that you’re clearly speaking in good faith, I’d think you were lying or at least exaggerating.
If Tampa couldn’t fix him is there any hope?
I imagine Carlson will only be up until Gunnar Henderson comes back. Then the OF will be Kjerstad/Laureano platoon, Mullins and O’Neill. Mateo and O’Hearn can be 5th/6th OF in a pinch.
I can’t wait to see the new and exciting ways for the Orioles to not play Kjerstad full time!
He’ll platoon with Carlson until Gunnar is activated from the IL sometime in the next week or 2, then Carlson will probably be optioned back to Norfolk and Kjerstad will play almost everyday until Cowser returns.
DO NOT SLIDE HEAD FIRST 😒! Second grade little league, I believe I learned this!🙄
You are wrong. T-ball starts at age 4 nowadays. Second grade age 7 they are already in instructional league and in some cases minors if exceptional. Little League also has a no head first slide rule through age 12.
It’s stupid to slide into first base. Not only can you get injured, but it’s slower than running through the base.
He was avoiding getting tagged by the pitcher covering first. In any case, the bases should be softer
There was s study done on this and it takes .40 seconds longer to get to first base on average when you slide head first. Still these idiot players insist on doing it. Guess the analytics dept (emphasis on “anal”) missed this one.
In this case it was a good slide decision. The P had 2 full strides with the ball and put his glove into the the baseline which would have tagged him out if Cowser had remained upright. If the P was rh then running through the bag would have been the correct decision. Sucks for the injury.
thanks for that original post, @Coop
If my trade value was just Shawn Armstrong?! Yikes!🤣
Funny how they seem so worried about his rough start before the injury. I mean, come on, it was only 18 at-bats. That’s not much to worry about. Yet, if you look at his August and September, he wasn’t doing great. He basically had two great months last year and that was it.
Probably keep Heston Kjerstad, who hits well as a lefty, and Ramon Laureano, a righty with a good glove. They could trade Cowser when he’s back—before his salary jumps—and get a top pitcher or something else huge, knowing their low-budget outfield still holds up.
Problem solved.