The Orioles announced that outfielder Colton Cowser has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. In a corresponding move, infielder/outfielder Cooper Hummel has been designated for assignment.
The O’s have been without Cowser for almost the entire year. In just the fourth game of the season, he slid into first base and suffered a fractured left thumb. The Orioles announced that he would probably miss six to eight weeks. He has gone just beyond that, as today is nine weeks since he suffered that injury.
While he’s been gone, the club has been struggling badly. Even though they just swept the White Sox over the weekend, they sport a record of 22-36, with the Sox the only club below them in the American League standings.
That is perhaps at least somewhat due to Cowser’s absence. Last year, he hit 24 home runs for the O’s and swiped nine bases. His 30.7% strikeout rate was quite high but he also drew walks at a solid 9.3% clip. He got strong marks for his outfield glovework, playing all three spots. FanGraphs credited him with four wins above replacement and he finished second to Luis Gil in American League Rookie of the Year voting.
Getting that player back in the lineup is nice but the O’s have a steep hill to climb. They’re also not at full strength in the outfield as Cedric Mullins, Tyler O’Neill and Ramón Laureano are all still on the shelf. Those absences make Cowser’s return a very welcome sight for Baltimore fans. He’ll join an outfield mix that currently consists of Heston Kjerstad, Dylan Carlson, Ryan O’Hearn, Jordyn Adams and Jorge Mateo.
As for Hummel, this is the latest transaction in what has surely been a frustrating week-plus for him. The O’s signed him on May 25th, after he had opted out of a minor league deal with the Yankees. He was designated for assignment the next day, without appearing in a game. Catcher Adley Rutschman had a concussion scare and the O’s needed to give that roster spot to Chadwick Tromp. A few days later, with Rutschman feeling better, Hummel was re-signed on May 30th.
But he’s now heading into DFA limbo yet again. Around all the transactions, he has just one plate appearance as an Oriole. He pinch hit for Ryan Mountcastle on Friday and struck out. It’s a bit of a microcosm for Hummel’s entire career, as he has always performed well in the minors but hasn’t been given many big league chances. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has a .284/.419/.475 line and 132 wRC+ at the Triple-A level. Despite that strong output, he hasn’t received more than 26 big league plate appearances in a season since 2022.
He’ll head back into DFA limbo for a week at most. He just cleared waivers last week and seems likely to do so again. If that comes to pass, he will have the right to elect free agency as a player with a previous career outright.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images
Cowser will make a difference, he could help get the O’s out of the cellar.
He’ll help but unless his return is to the mound I’m doubtful he’ll be what helps get them out of their rut
Hmm – maybe the starting pitching has weathered all the injuries and settled down. A nice run of quality starts. Sugano, Eflin and Kremer have be solid, Povich has been what you expect young pitchers to be and maybe Morton has sorted out his issues. Even Rogers has a great start.
Then again maybe they should have spent the big money on Burnes. Oh yea that wouldn’t have worked out.
Reminds me of Kirk Gibson; in the field and at the plate. Needs to get his k rate down. Do that and he sticks around for sometime.
What about the Hummel jersey I bought?🤣🤣🤣
I’d do a chargeback due to fraud on your credit card. 😂
You have a perfectly good option of keeping that one. 😁
I keep saying the O’s will still be in the post-season. Cowser is another missing piece. Get ready for the resurgence.
I just don’t see it with that pitching staff. It will almost be impossible to put the necessary streak(s) together to get back into contention when you have to flip a coin on what type of start you’re going to get night in and night out.
I think the hole is too deep. That said; Morton and Kremer have pitched well here of late. Surgano seems solid. Nice having Kitteridge (sp?) back. And curious to see Bradish, Rodriquez and Wells back in action … hooefully, sooner than later.
I don’t see Uncle Charlie keeping up with his last two outings. I love Kremer but he’s like that nursery rhyme: when he’s good he’s very good but when he’s bad he’s awful. I would love to see more consistency from him. I agree the hole is too deep. Don’t rush the injured back, trade away Mullins (sad face) and O’Hearn and prepare for a run in 2026.
Jeff
Agreed mostly
Morton hasn’t faced too many tough teams but he’s less bad at least. Tougher matchups coming. Kremer will always be hot and cold, it is just who he is, it would be nice if the hot water was on more often but he’d be a fine #5 on a good rotation as previously discussed. Sugano – some of the underlying peripherals bother me but he continues being solid, We’ll see in the hot summer.
Agree on the hole they’re in. Over the next 50 games to end of July they need a miracle to move to the front of the big group clumped around .500 – need something like 36-14. I can see them playing better and bumping around .500 over the next 50 games but the cavalry’s going to come too late (Bradish, maybe Rodriguez, not sure Wells) to help for the deadline decisions. They’d be making a guess on what they can do in the last 50 games.
Its a real stretch with a lot of teams in between for 2025.
Everyone seems to forget how good Kremer was last years. He struggled in April – otherwise he’s a very solid 3-4 starter. Morton just needs to stay strong for 2 months.
July will be interesting. I didn’t put much into a sweep of the White Sox especially given 2 of the games could have gone the other way, but last night was a solid win over a very good team which was encouraging. Even to fight back to .500 by the deadline is asking a lot (32-18). Schedule is very mixed.
Kremer pitched to a 3.95 ERA over 79 IP in 15 starts in July-Sep 2024 (after return from injury). This included 3 or 4 clunkers and 3 or 4 really good or excellent outings. 3.97 FIP, everything coming out to maybe a bit above average. I’d take that from a #4-5. 2 of his first 3 starts last year were turds and he had another bad one last May before getting hurt.
If Morton is going to stay in the rotation as it looks like he will, have to see against a good lineup. The last 5 (LAA, MIN, WSH, STL, CHW) may have built his confidence. He looked completely different the last few times which is a good thing – curveball moving and hitting the zone.
Just need to win some series and work back to 500 – maybe by August then we can talk playoffs. Teams have come back from deeper holes than this.
At this point, hold on to it. He’s going to resign another MLB contract with the Orioles before the weeks up. I think this is like the 3rd or 4th time it’s happened to this guy this year. Solid AAA player, just can’t seem to put it together at the MLB level. It happened when he was an Astro as well. I wish him luck.
to be fair, he never has really been given a chance
Hummel had one bad PA and one bad outfield play in one game.No big loss.
And Cowser goes yard on his return.