While the 60-70 Orioles are nine games back of a Wild Card spot and would need nothing short of a miracle to make it into the postseason at this point, that isn’t stopping them from doing what they can to best set themselves up for 2026. So far, that’s meant offering ample playing time to young players like Coby Mayo, Dylan Beavers, and the recently-extended Samuel Basallo. One other way to set the roster up for 2026, however, is to get reps in for players who are working their way back from injury.
Three such players are nearing returns from the injured list for Baltimore. Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner was among those to relay that Kyle Bradish is likely to be activated from the injured list to start Tuesday’s game for the Orioles, while Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball was among those to note that both Tyler Wells and Jorge Mateo figure to be activated from the injured list when rosters expand on September 1. All three players are currently on the 60-day injured list and will need to be added to the 40-man roster when activated.
For Bradish, Tuesday’s expected start will mark his first time on a big league mound since he was sidelined last June due to Tommy John surgery. He’s been on the mend ever since, and has made six rehab starts in the minor leagues as he prepares for his return to the majors. Getting Bradish into a good place to help front the Orioles’ rotation in 2026 figures to be a top priority for Baltimore over the next few weeks. The righty was emerging as an ace before he went under the knife last year, as he followed up a fourth-place finish in 2023 AL Cy Young award voting with a 2.75 ERA and 2.50 FIP and a 32.5% strikeout rate in eight starts last season.
If Bradish can be counted on for anything like his numbers over the last two years, where he pitched to a 2.81 ERA and 3.12 FIP in 38 starts, that would be a massively encouraging turn of events for the Orioles as they look to get back on track next year. Starting pitching was undeniably Baltimore’s Achilles heel this year, as short-term fliers on players like Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano were unable to compensate for the loss of Bradish due to injury and Corbin Burnes due to him signing with the Diamondbacks in free agency last winter. Burnes went on to have a difficult season of his own in Arizona that ultimately ended in Tommy John surgery, but his absence at the top of the Orioles’ rotation has nonetheless been felt as Baltimore starters have combined for a 4.76 ERA this year that stands as the worst mark in the American League.
Another arm who could help right the ship in terms of starting pitching is the right-handed Wells. Wells underwent an internal brace procedure on his UCL just a few days after Bradish’s own surgery, and while his contributions in 2024 were limited to just three starts where he surrendered 11 runs (ten earned) in 15 1/3 innings of work, he was a useful back-of-the-rotation starter and swing man for the Orioles prior to that year with a 3.96 ERA and 4.53 FIP across 43 starts and 49 relief appearances from 2021 to 2023. If Wells can get back to being that sort of dependable, league-average piece, that would go a long way to raising the floor for the Orioles next year. It’s not entirely clear whether Wells will be able to squeeze into Baltimore’s rotation upon returning given the presence of Sugano, Dean Kremer, Cade Povich, and Trevor Rogers (not to mention Bradish), but it’s not impossible that the club could at least consider a six-man rotation down the stretch.
On the position player side of things, the Orioles also figure to welcome Mateo from the injured list. Mateo, 30, is a pending free agent after this year who has been limited to just 32 games due to a number of injuries this season. After undergoing elbow surgery last August and beginning the season on the injured list, Mateo was sidelined by inflammation in that same elbow back in June. He suffered a hamstring strain about a month after that, which was severe enough to sideline him for what at the time was expected to be between 8 and 12 weeks.
His return will be on the shorter end of that timeframe, as he’s expected to return just under eight weeks after sustaining that injury. Mateo will look to finish the season strong ahead of free agency after struggling to a .180/.231/.279 (41 wRC+) line in 32 games for the Orioles this year, though that body of work includes just 65 trips to the plate. Typically, he’s been a below average but decent enough hitter for a bench role, and hit .225/.271/.371 (78 wRC+) in 423 games from 2022 to 2024.
I like Mateo but realistically he doesn’t have a spot on this team outside of pinch runner, and he’s very good and stealing bases mind you. I can’t see my O’s affording him much if any playing time at all. Now Bradish and Wells, I’m literally praying that one of them can be the full time talented starter that we’ve seen decent bits and pieces of and the other a shut down reliever. Thats all I can hope for, if they exceed my expectations and both fulfill their talent as starters, amazing, I’ll take it. It’s a big ask though with their injury history as well as a guy like Grayson. You can’t call them reliable unfortunately, in my opinion you just have to better prepare for their eventual unavailability. Certainly should better prepare for it than we did this past off season.
You may hope that Braddish returns to form immediately, but is that really a realistic expectation after TJS?
It’s hard to put realistic expectations on anyone who undergoes TJS. I think he still flashes the same level of stuff and pitching ability but I think they’re definitely going to be overly cautious and limit him quite a bit. Same goes for Wells and Grayson. All 3 have missed so much time already.
Nice that they confused Sugano a pitcher on the Orioles with Yoshida a hitter on the Red Sox. Guess they are all the same huh?
The ol Nick Deeds special
Anonymity. That’s a wrap.
I think you mean Tomoyuki Sugano instead of Yoshida in the third paragraph
Tomoyuki Sugano, and Yoshida.(the Red Sox slug). Do better, MLB Trade Rumors.
I found the internet tough guy and the internet know it all guy.
Wells is best suited for the bullpen. Hopefully the Orioles rotation is strong enough next year for Wells to unquestionably pitch from there.
Closer imo next year
I’d let Mateo walk now. No point wasting ABs on him at this point
Sick of Mateo. Super fast but can’t get on base
You can’t steal 1st base!
Yooooooo Masataka Yoshida plays for the Sox not the O’s
The Orioles season is lost, but they’ve got seven games against the Hated Yankees in the last two weeks of the season, and fellas, the Yankees are going down…..and they’re going to make it easy..
He gets hate because of the strikeouts but aside from one rough patch Sugano has been very solid this season.
Mateo has no place on this team anymore with the emergence/graduation of J. Jackson to the team. Jackson has more upside defensively and offensively, not to mention a much longer controlled timeframe remaining with Mateo a pending free agent.
Jackson is a super utility guy who offers the team more flexibility and upside and Mateo should not take any at bats away from him. Jackson needs to be in the lineup daily, be it covering for someone else to have a day off or locking down an outfield spot through the remainder of the season.
I can see Mateo being utilized for his speed late in games but at this point in the season, that roster spot should go to another guy who has been doing well on the farm and figures to have a role on the team in the foreseeable future and moving forward. The experience is invaluable and shouldn’t be deferred to a player who is going to be a free agent in a few weeks time.
Just my opinion but he should probably just be released because, although he has been a contributing factor in the past, the value doesn’t currently match utilizing the roster spot for someone else in the current situation.
J Jackson?
Jaren Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Janet Jackson
Jermaine Jackson
JJJJJ Jackson
Jeremiah Jackson – J. Jackson
The only other Jackson on the Orioles is A. Jackson – Alex Jackson
Jackson Holliday as well but figured J. Jackson was enough to distinguish if the context of the post wasn’t, my bad
Plus Reggie Jackson, but only 1976.
Team gets brownie points with other players by allowing Mateo an opportunity to right his season before free agency. Heaven forbid Baltimore get a reputation for treating their players fairly.
They have given Mateo 4 years to learn how to hit which he never did, and 3.4 million to be a pinch runner who now can’t field either.
They have treated Mateo very fairly, both in his salary and the amount of time he’s been kept on the roster, as Thornton mentioned. He was in other organizations and didn’t make it or get the opportunities he did in Baltimore.
This is a business decision and there is no room for emotion or brownie points, especially for a player who probably shouldn’t have been on the team as long as he was/is.
I hadn’t considered this until reading your reply but I agree. Not a personal thing as it is absolutely a thing to behold when he gets on base and disrupts the pitchers game plan. but the devil is in the details and you have to get on the bases to be a terror on the bases. I do really loved what Mateo did for the O’s but they can scarcely carry yet another player that can bring subpar offense when the O’s struggle mightily with RISP already. Separate thought here but IMHO, Baltimore needs a slap hitting Steven Kwan, Luis Arriaz kind of hitter to just get on base and keep the lineup moving runners station to station. (as a complement to their big bats and dinger ringers).
That slap hitter you mentioned will hopefully be Enrique Bradfield Jr.
He has 80 grade speed and is a pretty good centerfielder.
He is in double A right now so he’s not really knocking down the door yet but hopefully the skills translate and he’s up at some point next season.
I think the Orioles see Enrique Bradfield taking the Mateo speed role eventually. Hopefully he also maintains the high OBPs he’s had in the minors as they haven’t had a great leadoff type hitter since Brian Roberts.
With the new pitching rules a fast, smart runner just waits out the max on throw-overs and then takes off. Mateo is one of several around the league who have done that. I don’t think you can credit any victory to something Mateo’s done on the basepaths specifically this year, but he certainly has killed a number of rallies with his inability to hit plus the errors this year didn’t help.
Hopefully Bradish can get a couple decent starts down the stretch to set him up for 2026.
I’ll say again Wells is not any more than an emergency starter. He could be good out of the ‘pen which also needs to be rebuilt after being fried early followed by the fire sale.
Every inning Mateo gets is one less inning that a guy who can help the team in 2026 doesn’t get. I hope he is a pending free agent as this article said twice, though there is a 5.5M team option on him now.
I’ve been saying that Wells belongs in the pen as well. I think he would work out as a high leverage arm, potentially closing out games in Bautistas absence.
Mateo’s time on the roster should finally expire if they are serious about getting good looks at the young guys.
would reuniting college teammate, Steven Kwan with Adley help Adley shake his funk?
Adley would be a very good trade target for the Guardians.