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Orioles Sign Kyle Gibson

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The Orioles announced on Friday that they’ve reunited with Kyle Gibson on a one-year deal. The Rowley Sports Management client is reportedly guaranteed $5.25MM and can earn another $1.525MM in performance bonuses — including $150K apiece at 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 starts. Baltimore placed Kyle Bradish, who underwent elbow surgery last June, on the 60-day injured list to open a roster spot.

Gibson was the top remaining free agent starting pitcher. The veteran righty has been a durable innings source at the back of various rotations. That included a 2023 season spent in Baltimore. Gibson made 33 starts and tossed 192 innings for the O’s two seasons ago. He posted a 4.73 earned run average while recording 157 strikeouts.

The Missouri product signed a $13MM free agent deal with the Cardinals during the 2023-24 offseason. He continued to work as a steady if unexciting back-end option. Gibson took 30 turns through the rotation and pitched to a 4.24 ERA over 169 2/3 innings. His 20.9% strikeout rate and 44.8% ground-ball percentage were near league average. St. Louis declined a $12MM club option in favor of a $1MM buyout at year’s end.

Gibson has nine MLB seasons with at least 29 starts and more than 150 frames. He hasn’t spent any time on the injured list within the last three seasons. His 711 1/3 innings over the past four years ranks eighth among major league pitchers. Once he’s ready for major league work, he should slot into the fifth spot in Brandon Hyde’s rotation.

That won’t be from Opening Day. While Gibson has been throwing side sessions, that’s not a direct substitute for Spring Training. Hyde told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com that Gibson will need the equivalent of a spring ramp-up. It’s not clear if he’ll consent to an optional assignment to begin the season in the minors or start the year on the injured list, but he won’t be on the active roster on Thursday.

Gibson is the third older starting pitcher whom the Orioles have added on a one-year deal. They signed Charlie Morton to a $15MM contract and brought in NPB veteran Tomoyuki Sugano at $13MM. All three project more as back-end arms at this stage of their careers.

Grayson Rodriguez received a cortisone shot to treat elbow inflammation a couple weeks ago. He’ll begin the season on the injured list. Zach Eflin leads a starting five that also includes Morton, Sugano and Dean Kremer. Swingman Albert Suárez and young lefty Cade Povich are battling to round out the rotation. Suárez entered camp as the sixth starter, but Povich has outperformed him this spring. They’ll need one of those pitchers to hold a rotation spot until Gibson is ready for regular season work.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the $5.25MM base salary and the $1.525MM in incentives. Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner reported the start breakdown. Image courtesy of Jerome Miron, USA Today Sports.

Players Who Could Move To The 60-Day IL Once Spring Training Begins

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Most of the clubs in the league currently have a full 40-man roster, which means that just about every transaction requires a corresponding move these days. Some extra roster flexibility is on the way, however. The 60-day injured list goes away five days after the World Series but comes back when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

Per R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports, most clubs have a report date of February 12th or 13th. The Cubs and Dodgers are a bit earlier than most, on the 9th and 11th, respectively. That’s due to the fact that those clubs are heading to Tokyo, with exhibition games in mid-March, followed by regular season games against each other on March 18th and 19th. All the other teams have Opening Day scheduled for March 27th.

It’s worth pointing out that the 60 days don’t start being counted until Opening Day. Although a team can transfer a player to the 60-day IL quite soon, they will likely only do so if they aren’t expecting the player back until end of May or later. A team also must have a full 40-man roster in order to move a player to the 60-day IL.

There are still plenty of free agents still out there, including big names like Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso, as well as Nick Pivetta, Andrew Heaney, David Robertson, Randal Grichuk, Kenley Jansen, Harrison Bader, Lance Lynn, Jose Quintana and many more. Perhaps the extra roster flexibility will spur some deals to come together in the next week or so. It could also increase the ability of some clubs to make waiver claims or small trades for players who have been designated for assignment.

Here are some players who are expected to miss some significant time and could find themselves transferred soon.

Angels: Robert Stephenson

Stephenson underwent a hybrid Tommy John surgery with internal brace in late April. Given the 14-plus months required to recovery from such a procedure, he’s not likely to be ready in the early parts of the 2025 season.

Astros: Cristian Javier, J.P. France, Bennett Sousa

Javier underwent Tommy John surgery in June and is targeting a return in the second half of 2025. France is recovering from shoulder surgery and hoping to return in July. Sousa’s timeline is less clear but he underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in April. Other possibilities include Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr., who are expected to start the season on the IL but returning in April or May still seems possible.

Athletics: Luis Medina, Ken Waldichuk

Medina underwent Tommy John surgery in August and Waldichuk in May. Medina might miss the entire season while Waldichuk is likely to miss a few months at least.

Blue Jays: Angel Bastardo, Alek Manoah

The Jays grabbed Bastardo from the Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft in December, even though he had Tommy John surgery in June. Manoah also had Tommy John around that time and is hoping to be back by August.

Braves: Joe Jiménez

Jimenez had knee surgery in November with a timeline of eight to twelve months, so he might miss the entire season. Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. are also possibilities, though those will be more borderline. Strider had internal brace surgery in April, so returning in May is somewhat possible. Acuña is recovering from a torn ACL last year and it’s possible he’ll miss the first month or so of the season. Given how important both of those players are, Atlanta probably won’t put them on the 60-day IL unless it’s 100% certain that they can’t come back in the first 60 days of the season.

Brewers: Robert Gasser

Gasser had Tommy John surgery in June and will be looking at a late 2025 return even in a best-case scenario.

Diamondbacks: Kyle Nelson

Nelson’s timeline is unclear, but he underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in May and missed the remainder of the 2024 season.

Dodgers: Gavin Stone, Brusdar Graterol, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt, Emmet Sheehan

Stone underwent shoulder surgery in October that will cause him to miss the entire year. Graterol also underwent shoulder surgery and isn’t expected back until the second half of 2025. Each of Ryan, Hurt and Sheehan required Tommy John surgery in 2024: Ryan in August, Hurt in July and Sheehan in May.

Guardians: Sam Hentges, David Fry, Shane Bieber, Trevor Stephan

Hentges required shoulder surgery in September, with an expected recovery timeline of 12 to 14 months. Fry underwent UCL surgery in November with a more fluid timeline. He won’t be able to throw at all in 2025 but could be cleared for designated hitter action six to eight months from that surgery. Bieber is perhaps a borderline case, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in April. Given his importance, the Guards may not transfer him to the 60-day IL until it’s assured that he won’t be back in the first 60 days of the season. Stephan underwent Tommy John surgery in March and perhaps has a chance to avoid the 60-day IL, depending on his progression.

Mariners: Matt Brash, Jackson Kowar

Brash underwent Tommy John surgery in May. Given the typical 14-month recovery timeline from that procedure, he would be looking at a midsummer return. However, it was reported in November that he’s ahead of schedule and could be back by the end of April. That’s an optimistic timeline but the Mariners will probably hold off moving him to the 60-day IL until the door is closed to an early return. Kowar underwent Tommy John in March, so an early return in 2025 is possible for him, depending on how his recovery is going.

Marlins: Braxton Garrett, Eury Pérez

Garrett just underwent UCL surgery last month and is going to miss the entire 2025 season. Pérez underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year and will miss at least part of the beginning of the 2025 campaign.

Mets: Christian Scott

Scott required a Tommy John surgery and internal brace hybrid procedure in September and will likely miss the entire 2025 season.

Nationals: Josiah Gray, Mason Thompson

Gray required a Tommy John surgery and internal brace hybrid procedure in July, meaning he’ll miss most or perhaps all of the 2025 season. Thompson required Tommy John surgery in March, so he has a better chance to make an early-season return if his recovery is going well.

Orioles: Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells

Bradish and Wells each required UCL surgery in June, so they’re both slated to miss the first half of the upcoming campaign.

Padres: Joe Musgrove

Musgrove had Tommy John surgery in October and will therefore miss the entire 2025 season. However, the Padres only have 36 guys on their 40-man roster at the moment, so they’ll need to fill those spots before moving Musgrove to the 60-day IL.

Pirates: Dauri Moreta

Moreta required UCL surgery in March, so an early-season return is possible if his rehab is going well, though he could end up on the 60-day if the club goes easy with his ramp-up or he suffers any kind of setback.

Rangers: Josh Sborz

Sborz underwent shoulder surgery in November and is expected to miss the first two to three months of the upcoming season.

Rays: Nate Lavender, Ha-Seong Kim

The Rays took Lavender from the Mets in the Rule 5 draft, even though he had Tommy John in May and will miss the start of the season. Kim’s status is more up in the air after he had shoulder surgery in October. Various reports have suggested he could return anywhere from April to July. The Rays made a sizable investment in Kim, their largest ever for a position player, so they probably won’t shelve him until they get more clarity on his status.

Red Sox: Patrick Sandoval, Garrett Whitlock, Chris Murphy

Sandoval had internal brace surgery in June of last year and should miss the first half of the season. Whitlock had the same surgery in May, so he could have a bit of a better chance to return in the first 60 days of the season. Murphy underwent a fully Tommy John surgery in April and will certainly miss the beginning of the upcoming season. Another possibility is Lucas Giolito, who had internal brace surgery in March, though he expects to be ready by Opening Day.

Reds: Julian Aguiar, Brandon Williamson

Aguiar underwent Tommy John surgery in October and Williamson in September, so both are likely slated to miss the entire 2025 season.

Tigers: Sawyer Gipson-Long

Gipson-Long underwent internal brace surgery in April. On top of that, he underwent left hip labral repair surgery in July, with the club hoping to address both issues at the same time. It seems likely that he’ll miss some of the early 2025 schedule, but his IL placement will depend on how he’s been progressing.

White Sox: Jesse Scholtens

Scholtens underwent Tommy John surgery in early March. Whether he goes on the 60-day IL or not will depend on how he’s progressed since then and when the White Sox expect him back.

Yankees: Jonathan Loáisiga

Loáisiga underwent internal brace surgery in April, so he could potentially be back on the mound early in the 2025 season. It was reported in December that the Yankees are expecting him to be in the bullpen by late April or early May, so he’ll only end up on the 60-day IL if he suffers a bit of a setback.

Royals Trade Colin Selby To Orioles

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The Orioles announced Thursday that they’ve acquired right-hander Colin Selby from the Royals in exchange for cash. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Kansas City had recently designated Selby for assignment. The O’s transferred Kyle Bradish from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Selby, 26, pitched just three big league innings for the Royals this season, allowing a pair of runs in that short time. Kansas City acquired Selby from Pittsburgh back in April, sending minor league southpaw Connor Oliver to the Pirates in return. Selby pitched 24 innings with the Bucs last year but was tagged for 24 runs in that time. To date, he’s allowed 26 earned runs in 27 MLB frames.

Obviously, that’s a poor track record but also a small sample at the game’s top level. But the former 16th-round pick is no stranger to minor league success, having posted excellent numbers at the Double-A level in addition to some decent but inconsistent results in Triple-A. Selby notched a sub-4.00 ERA with a 30.8% strikeout rate for Pittsburgh’s Triple-A club last season but has struggled to a 5.32 ERA in 20 Triple-A frames between Indianapolis and Omaha this year.

Missing bats is nothing new for Selby, who’s punched out 25.6% of his career minor league opponents. That includes some lesser strikeout rates in the lower minors when he was still working as a starter. Since moving up to the Double-A level and shifting exclusively to a relief role, Selby has fanned 29.8% of the batters he’s faced. His bat-missing arsenal, as is often the case, is accompanied by troubling command woes, however. He’s dished out a free pass to 12.5% of his combined Double-A/Triple-A opponents and plunked another five hitters. Between those walks and HBPs, he’s given first base away to about 14% of the hitters he’s faced in the upper minors.

Selby is in the second of three minor league option years and doesn’t yet have a full season of MLB service under his belt. If the O’s can get him straightened out, he’ll be optionable again next season and under club control for a full six seasons. There’s quite a ways to go before that’s even a plausible situation, but Baltimore has a knack for coaxing strong relief work from unheralded acquisitions. Their track record isn’t spotless, of course, but the O’s have unlocked next-level performances from Yennier Cano, Danny Coulombe, Cionel Perez and Jacob Webb, among others, despite middling to nonexistent track records at their time of acquisition.

Kyle Bradish Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Orioles general manager Mike Elias informed reporters that right-hander Kyle Bradish underwent Tommy John surgery with an internal brace today. He’ll be out for the rest of this year and part of 2025 as well. Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner was among those to relay the news on X. Additionally, left-hander Danny Coulombe had bone chips removed from his elbow, per Allentuck on X. The southpaw could return this year but is likely out until September.

The Bradish news is a brutal blow for the club’s rotation. He had a tremendous breakout season with the O’s last year, making 30 starts with a 2.83 earned run average. He struck out 25% of batters faced, limited walks to a 6.6% rate and got grounders at a 49.2% clip.

Things got scary here in 2024, as Bradish was diagnosed with a sprain of his UCL in mid-February. The club initially tried non-surgical interventions and seemed to have some success. Bradish was given a platelet-rich plasma injection and was showing “accelerated healing” by early March, per Bradish himself.

Things seemed to accelerate fairly normally from there. Bradish was able to start a rehab assignment by the second week of April and was reinstated from the injured list in early May. He made eight starts for the big league club with a 2.75 ERA. But he landed back on the injured list last week, again due to a sprain of his UCL, with surgery apparently unavoidable this time around.

In hindsight, it would be easy to dismiss the past four months as simply delaying the inevitable, but pitchers have suffered UCL injuries and avoided surgery before. Masahiro Tanaka was diagnosed with a partially torn UCL in 2014, for instance, but never got it repaired and went on to pitch between 150 and 200 innings in each of the five following seasons. Seth Lugo was also found to have a slight tear in 2017 but didn’t go under the knife. More recently, Triston McKenzie was diagnosed with a UCL sprain last summer but has made 14 starts for the Guardians this year.

Given the 14 to 18 months of recovery that are generally needed after Tommy John surgery, pitchers and teams usually prefer to exhaust non-surgical options before surrendering to the surgeon’s table. The O’s and Bradish believed they had a path open to them and tried to take it, but unfortunately couldn’t make it work in this instance.

This is now the third starting pitcher that the Orioles have lost to season-ending UCL surgery this year, as both Tyler Wells and John Means went down this road before Bradish. Despite those losses, the rotation has been a strength overall. Baltimore starter’s have a combined ERA of 3.03 this year, which trails only the Yankees and Phillies. But maintaining such a position without those three will be a challenge.

As of now, the O’s are left with Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Cole Irvin, Cade Povich and Albert Suárez in the rotation, but it seems fair to expect the O’s to pursue additions prior to the July 30 deadline. Povich has just two major league starts under his belt so far. Irvin has a 3.03 ERA on the year but is only striking out 17.9% of batters faced. His 4.16 SIERA this year and his career ERA of 4.24 perhaps suggest some regression is coming. Suárez has a 2.05 ERA but is a 34-year-old journeyman with a 19.7% strikeout rate and 81.9% strand rate.

Dean Kremer should be rejoining that group shortly, as he is on the injured list but currently on a rehab assignment. However, he’s more of a solid back-end guy, with an ERA of 4.35 in his career and a mark of 4.32 this year. In terms of depth options, Levi Stoudt was just claimed off waivers but has a 6.92 ERA in Triple-A this year. Bruce Zimmermann is on the 40-man but hasn’t pitched since mid-May. Jonathan Heasley is also on the roster but has been working as a swingman in the minors.

Last week, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the club would be waiting until closer to the deadline to decide on their starting pitching approach. With Bradish now out for the year, that will presumably increase their desire to pursue starting pitching in the months to come. In the meantime, Bradish will be transferred to the 60-day injured list whenever the O’s need his roster spot. He’ll spent the rest of the year on the shelf and will qualify for arbitration this offseason as a Super Two player.

The news on Coulombe isn’t as bad but is still significant. The lefty has a career ERA of 3.57 and that mark is just 2.68 since joining the O’s prior to the 2023 season. He has thrown 77 1/3 innings since coming to Baltimore, striking out 28.5% of batters faced while limiting walks to a 5% clip.

He landed on the IL a week ago due to left elbow inflammation and it now seems he’s going to miss several months, leaving the Orioles with Cionel Pérez, Keegan Akin and Nick Vespi as southpaws in their bullpen.

Like Bradish, Coulombe will be a candidate to be moved to the 60-day IL whenever the O’s need a roster spot for someone else. The two sides avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a one-year deal with a club option in January. That option has a $4MM base salary and escalators that start at 50 appearances. He’s made 29 appearances so far this year but won’t be able to get that number up to 50 if he’s out until September. He will cross six years of service by the end of the season and be a free agent if the O’s decline that option.

Orioles Place Kyle Bradish On 15-Day IL With Right UCL Sprain

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1:56PM: Hyde told Roch Kubatko and other reporters that Bradish is undergoing further tests and will visit multiple doctors before determining his next course of action, whether it’s surgery or another attempt at a non-surgical recovery.

12:20PM: Bradish has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right UCL sprain, the Orioles announced.  In the best case scenario, this would represent 2.5 months on the shelf for Bradish, replicating his absence in the early part of the season.  However, the pretty quick decision to return Bradish to the IL after last night’s game is an ominous sign towards a longer-term absence.  Left-hander Nick Vespi was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding roster move.

10:35AM: Kyle Bradish left yesterday’s game after five innings due to soreness in his right elbow, and Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko) that more will be known once Bradish undergoes examination.  Bradish had allowed two earned runs over five innings and 74 pitches against the Phillies, but “he came to us and said his elbow was bothering him, so we’re going to get further tests on that….He had to come out of the game after that inning,” Hyde said.

Any type of elbow injury is cause for concern, though Bradish’s situation is particularly troublesome since he was already sidelined with a sprained UCL earlier this year.  That past injury developed early in Spring Training, so Bradish’s season debut was delayed until May 2 since he had to both get healthy and then start his spring ramp-up work from scratch.

Considering that there were initial concerns that Bradish might need a Tommy John surgery, an early-May return was a huge relief for both the right-hander and the Orioles, and Bradish’s strong performance on the mound further allayed any fears prior to last night.  Bradish has a 2.75 ERA over eight starts and 39 1/3 innings, and is among the league’s elite in such key categories as strikeout rate (32.5%), hard-hit ball rate (28.6%) and grounder rate (56%).  While his walk rate had dropped below average, Bradish looked like he was continuing the front-of-the-rotation form that he displayed during his 2023 breakout season.

It could be that Bradish has again dodged a bullet if his elbow is simply sore, and some discomfort might’ve been inevitable given the circumstances behind his start to the season.  That said, the O’s have taken a conservative approach to Bradish’s deployment — he has received the traditional four days of rest between starts only once, and otherwise had five or more days of rest between all of his other starts.  Before yesterday, Bradish’s previous start was on June 8, so he had five full days to rest before taking on the Phillies.

Even if the tests come back clean, the Orioles might consider placing Bradish on the 15-day injured list anyway simply as a precautionary measure.  Baltimore has an off-day on Monday, but then enters a stretch of 13 games in as many days, so Bradish’s absence would further stretch a rotation that has already been thinned by injuries.  John Means (Tommy John surgery) and Tyler Wells (UCL surgery) have both been lost for the season, while Dean Kremer has been on the IL for about four weeks with a strained triceps.  Kremer is set to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment on Sunday, so he could be an option to return to the rotation in the next week or two.

Even amidst all of these injuries, the Orioles have still fielded one of the sport’s better rotations, and have even had enough depth to use a six-man rotation to help manage everyone’s innings.  If Bradish will miss time, Baltimore still has a starting five of Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Cole Irvin, Albert Suarez, and Cade Povich, plus some extra depth in the upper minors.  (The team added to that depth with its acquisition of Levi Stoudt two days ago.)

Of course, losing Bradish for even a short amount of time is a blow to a Baltimore team that is fighting the Yankees for first place in the AL East, and a longer-term injury will hamper the Orioles’ World Series aspirations.  The O’s were already expected to be looking for both rotation and bullpen help at the trade deadline, and a greater need for starters might result in more of prospect cost in deals.

Orioles Reinstate Kyle Bradish, Designate Yohan Ramírez

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The Orioles announced today that right-hander Kyle Bradish has been reinstated from the injured list and will start today’s game. To open a roster spot for him, righty Yohan Ramírez has been designated for assignment.

Bradish has been on the injured list all season and will be making his season debut today. While missing more than a month to start the year is less than ideal, it’s essentially a best-case scenario when considering where things stood a few months back. Bradish was diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in the middle of February, which naturally led to worries about Tommy John surgery and an absence of more than a year.

But the righty receive a platelet-rich plasma injection and began a throwing program shortly thereafter.  A few weeks later, general manager Mike Elias said that subsequent MRIs had shown “accelerated healing” of the ligament. Bradish began a rehab assignment a couple of weeks ago and made three starts, tossing 3 innings, then 3 1/3, then 5 frames.

Considering the scary diagnosis from the winter, seeing Bradish return to a big league mound just a few months later is just about the best outcome that could have been imagined. He had a huge breakout for the O’s last year, making 30 starts and finishing the year with a 2.83 earned run average. He struck out 25% of batters faced, walking opponents at a 6.6% rate while keeping 49.2% of balls in play on the ground. He finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting.

Getting that kind of production back in the rotation will be key for the Orioles, as their starting staff has been in constant flux this year. Both Bradish and John Means started the season on the injured list. Tyler Wells and Grayson Rodriguez have gone on the IL in recent weeks, though Means and Bradish have now both been activated. That leaves the club with a rotation of Bradish, Means, Corbin Burnes, Cole Irvin and Dean Kremer, with Albert Suárez likely bumped into a long relief role.

Despite the various injuries, the club has weathered the storm well. They are currently 19-11, one of the best records in baseball so far this year. Their starting staff has a collective ERA of 3.58 at the moment, which places them 10th in the majors.

The activation of Bradish will cost Ramírez his roster spot. It’s now possible that he will celebrate his birthday in DFA limbo, as he turns 29 on Monday. The righty has bounced around the league quite a bit in his career, having gone from the Mariners to the Guardians, Pirates, White Sox, Mets and Orioles over the past few years.

His stints with those last three clubs have each been fairly brief. The White Sox claimed him off waivers from the Pirates in September of last year. He was designated for assignment in December and traded to the Mets for cash. He lasted with the Mets through the winter but was designated for assignment just over a week into the season, going to the O’s in another cash deal.

Between the Mets and the Orioles, he has thrown 11 1/3 innings this year with an 8.74 ERA, though a lot of that ERA is due to a five-run outing for the Mets just before they cut him loose. He has struck out 22.2% of batters faced this year while walking 11.1%. He is out of options, so the only way for the O’s to clear him from the active roster was to remove him from the 40-man entirely.

They will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He now has a career ERA of 4.39 in 135 1/3 innings, going back to his 2020 debut. His 23.1% strikeout rate and 44.2% ground ball rate are both around league average, though his 12.4% walk rate is on the high side.

Orioles Plan To Activate Kyle Bradish From Injured List This Week

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Kyle Bradish tossed 77 pitches over five innings of a Triple-A rehab start yesterday, which was his third rehab outing while recovering from a right UCL sprain.  It looks as though the Orioles are satisfied with the progress, as manager Brandon Hyde told BaltimoreBaseball.com’s Rich Dubroff and other reporters that Bradish will probably be activated from the 15-day injured list this week to make his official 2024 debut.

“Our medical team talked to him last night, the pitching guys as well. He feels great,” Hyde said.  “We’re just looking right now when to slot him in, but he’s going to be with us soon….He got to an innings spot and a pitch spot, the amount of pitches he threw where we feel like he’s ready.  Kyle was one of the best pitchers in the league last year, and we’re excited to have him back.”

It was a little more than two months ago that Bradish’s injury was revealed, which caused immediate speculation that the righty’s season could be in jeopardy if Tommy John surgery or an internal brace procedure was needed to address the UCL damage.  However, Bradish received a PRP injection that seemed to work wonders, as he was able to gradually increase his workload to the point that he was able to start his rehab assignment earlier than expected.  Though missing a month of the regular season is no small matter, that is a concession Bradish and the Orioles will happily take given the initial threat of a much longer layoff.

After making his MLB debut in 2022, Bradish quietly emerged as Baltimore’s ace in his second big league season.  The right-hander finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting after delivering a 2.83 ERA and above-average strikeout (25%) and walk (6.6%) rates across 168 2/3 innings.  He allowed a good deal of hard contact, but his 49.2% grounder rate limited the damage, and Bradish benefited from a .270 BABIP.

The addition of Corbin Burnes further bolstered the Orioles’ rotation this winter, pushing Bradish down to the projected No. 2 spot in the pitching staff.  The rotation took some more hits when John Means’ elbow soreness resulted in a season-opening stint on the IL, and Tyler Wells was also sidelined two weeks ago with elbow inflammation.  Hyde told Dubroff and company that Wells hadn’t yet started throwing, as “we’re just kind of slow playing him” and “making sure there’s no soreness in there.”

Means is much closer to a return, as his final Triple-A rehab outing is set for Sunday.  Assuming all goes well, both Bradish and Means could be activated in the next week, thus bumping Albert Suarez and probably Cole Irvin out of the starting mix.  That said, Hyde said “everything’s up on the table right now,” in terms of how the O’s might line up their starters, as the team has also considered using a six-man rotation.  Such a deployment would help ease Bradish and Means into action, and the Orioles’ upcoming off-days on May 6 and 9 would also allow for a potential reset after the club evaluates everyone through at least one start.

Kyle Bradish To Begin Rehab Assignment

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The Orioles announced yesterday that Kyle Bradish has joined the squad at High-A Aberdeen and will begin a rehab assignment soon. He’s been on the 15-day injured list since the beginning of the season.

The news is surely pleasant for fans of the O’s, especially considering where things stood just a couple of months ago. Back in the middle of February, Bradish was diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Since that is the ligament that is repaired in Tommy John surgery, many began to fret that Bradish would need to go under the knife and miss the entire 2024 season and perhaps even part of 2025 as well.

Instead, Bradish received a platelet-rich plasma injection and began a throwing program. Just a few weeks after the initial diagnosis of the sprain, general manager Mike Elias relayed that subsequent MRIs had shown “accelerated healing” of the ligament. The fact that he’s now set to embark on a rehab assignment suggests that things have continued to progress in a positive direction.

The Orioles went into the offseason with a strong roster but the rotation was clearly a relatively weaker part of it. They did make a huge trade to acquire Corbin Burnes but the group still felt a bit lackluster, especially since the O’s could have done more. With a farm system that’s considered by some to be the best in the league and almost no future payroll commitments, they could have done more trading or made a splash in free agency. The latter scenario was especially open to the O’s as starting pitchers languished on the open market well after Bradish’s injury diagnosis, including big names like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery or even back-of-the-rotation types like Michael Lorenzen.

The injury to Bradish and the continued absence of John Means left Baltimore with a rotation of Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer and Cole Irvin to open the year. Last year, Irvin had a 4.81 ERA as a starter and got moved to the bullpen frequently. Wells had a 3.64 ERA last year but with an unsustainable .200 batting average on balls in play and 82.6% strand rate, which is why his 4.98 FIP and 4.19 SIERA weren’t as impressive.

With Bradish now on the mend, that group will be bolstered in a few weeks, assuming everything goes smooth with the rehab. Bradish had a 2.98 ERA last year over his 30 starts. He combined a 25% strikeout rate with a 6.6% walk rate and 49.2% ground ball rate, with all three of those being a few ticks better than league average. The O’s have not moved him to the 60-day IL, so he’ll be eligible to be activated as soon as he’s healthy.

If Bradish returns and the other arms in the rotation are also healthy, the club will have to make a decision about who to bump out. Irvin is out of options but he could perhaps move to a long relief role in the bullpen if he’s the one squeezed out of the rotation.

Injury Notes: Lodolo, Cabrera, Garrett, Perez, Means, Bradish

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Nick Lodolo looked sharp today in the first of two planned Triple-A rehab starts.  The Reds southpaw allowed one run in five innings and 77 pitches of work, while striking out eight and allowing two hits and three walks.  After missing most of the 2023 season due to a stress reaction in his left tibia, Lodolo was still feeling some leg soreness this spring, so the Reds started him on the 15-day injured list in order to better ease Lodolo’s path back to action.  Assuming he is feeling healthy after today’s outing and his next rehab start, Lodolo is slated to make his season debut for the Reds on April 10.

More on other pitchers working towards getting healthy….

  • Edward Cabrera also began the season on the 15-day IL, as the Marlins righty was sidelined with an impingement in his throwing shoulder.  As noted by MLB.com, Cabrera threw 39 pitches in a intrasquad scrimmage game earlier this week and a 20-pitch bullpen session on Friday, so the next step is a minor league rehab assignment that begins with a Triple-A start today.  It isn’t yet known how many rehab outings Cabrera might need before he is activated, though of the Marlins’ multiple injured starters, he appears closest to a return.  Braxton Garrett is slated to throw a bullpen session today as he works his way back from his own shoulder impingement, and Garrett intends to be back in action before the end of April.  El Extra Base’s Daniel Alvarez-Montes (X link) notes that Eury Perez threw 20 pitches in a bullpen session today, with Perez on the road to recovery after being waylaid by elbow soreness in Spring Training.
  • While rehab starts are about getting comfortable and working out pitches rather than pure results, John Means had a shaky showing in first rehab start today with Triple-A Norfolk.  The Baltimore Sun’s Matt Weyrich was among those to relay the news that Means gave up seven runs on six hits and a walk over the 32-pitch outing.  Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters yesterday that Means’ is “going to be close to 30 days” in Norfolk, as in the maximum length for rehab assignments.  Means missed almost all of the 2022 and 2023 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery, and the O’s didn’t include him on their playoff roster due to what was reported as elbow soreness at the time.  As Kubatko notes, the Orioles are now referring to the injury as a left forearm strain, which only adds to the extreme caution Means and the O’s are taking in slowly ramping up the southpaw’s workload.
  • A sprain in Kyle Bradish’s right UCL created concerns that Bradish might also miss an extended amount of time, but the Orioles right-hander seems to be making good progress as he is also taking a careful approach to his rehab.  As relayed to Kubatko and other media, Bradish threw all of his pitches over a 35-pitch bullpen session yesterday.  While he “feels really good” in the aftermath of this bullpen, Bradish and Hyde didn’t commit to any kind of timeline about when Bradish will start building towards a return to the active roster.

Julio Teheran Opts Out Of Deal With Orioles

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March 23: Teheran has exercised his opt-out clause, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He now figures to return to free agency where he’ll hunt for a new deal that offers him a better chance of receiving playing time in the big leagues.

March 22: Veteran righty Julio Teheran intends to trigger an opt-out clause in his minor league contract with the Orioles if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, reports Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner (X link). The O’s will need to decide in the next few days whether to give him an MLB spot or let him retest free agency. His contract would come with a $2MM base salary if he makes the team.

Baltimore signed Teheran a little less than one month ago. He has started three of four appearances in camp, allowing five runs with a 7:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 9 1/3 innings. There’s not a whole lot to be gleaned from that small sample, although it hasn’t been a resoundingly strong performance.

If Teheran were to make the team, it’d very likely come in a long relief role. O’s manager Brandon Hyde confirmed yesterday that they’ll open the season with a rotation of Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer and Cole Irvin (link via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). Righty Kyle Bradish and southpaw John Means are each starting the year on the injured list. GM Mike Elias told reporters this afternoon that both pitchers are expected to contribute early in the first half of the upcoming season (X link via MLB.com’s Jake Rill).

The O’s don’t have a ton of flexibility to accommodate a long reliever. Craig Kimbrel, Danny Coulombe, Yennier Cano, Jacob Webb, Cionel Pérez and Dillon Tate should all have bullpen spots secure. Mike Baumann is out of options and has tossed 5 2/3 scoreless frames with six strikeouts this spring. It’d be a surprise if the O’s risked losing him on waivers. That would leave only one spot available. Lefty Keegan Akin still has an option remaining, but he has outpitched Teheran in camp, fanning 10 without allowing a run over 7 1/3 innings.

Teheran worked mostly as a starter a season ago. He opened 11 of 14 appearances as a member of the Brewers. Teheran allowed 4.40 earned runs per nine across 71 2/3 innings. He struck out a below-average 17.4% of opponents while keeping his walks to a pristine 4.5% clip.

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