Orioles’ Westburg disappointed with delayed start due to another injury

SARASOTA-What’s happening? Jordan Westburg had a disappointing 2025 season. He was on the injured list with hamstring and ankle injuries and missed time with a finger injury, too.

He played only 85 games, but had good stats — a .265 average, .770 OPS, 17 home runs, 41 RBIs.

The 26-year-old infielder won’t be playing in early Grapefruit League games because of a right oblique injury.

“I feel pretty good now. I’m happy with the way things are progressing,” Westburg said. “Obviously, frustrated and disappointed that I can’t come into spring healthy. Timetable, I’m just trying to take it day-by-day and trust in the athletic training and strength staff’s plan for my rehab. I’m hoping to get back in games. When that is, I can’t really speak to.

“The frustrating aspect of this is that I can’t really pinpoint an instance of when this happened. It’s one of those things where I woke up a little bit sore, tried to be smart about it, cut down on swinging, throwing and everything. Reported it to the trainers. As the day … went along, it just got worse and worse, so I figured there was an issue there and, thankfully, I was able to get up to Baltimore and get an MRI and get things started rehab-wise before I got down here.”

Westburg said he’d worked hard over the winter to reduce the possibility of injury.

“I felt like I was doing everything right, and here we are again,” he said.

Westburg isn’t thinking about possibly playing second base now that Jackson Holliday will begin the season on the injured list because of a broken hamate bone in his right hand. Holliday had surgery this week and his return is uncertain.

“I’m not even there yet in my rehab progression yet,” Westburg said. “I’ll tackle that when it gets handed to me. As of right now, I’m preparing mentally for third. I know we’ve made some infield depth moves.

“My primary position over the last 12 months has been third. I’m going to continue to mentally focus on that. If I got asked to move over and take some more reps at second, I don’t mind it. I like playing second base, too.”

Manager Craig Albernaz said Westburg is vital to the Orioles’ success.

“Extremely important. Westy is such a great ballplayer, the skills, the at-bat quality, what he can bring, the versatility at the plate, what he brings in the clubhouse to the guys, the way he goes about his business, the way he plays. He’s a quiet leader in that clubhouse. That’s the sole focus, to get him back to where he needs to be to get ready to go play.

“Our goal for all our guys, not just Westy, is to be ready to go on Opening Day, not to be ready for the first game of spring training. The finished product, where we need to be is Opening Day … that’s our north star. That’s what we’re preaching to Westy and to all our guys.”

What’s happened? Albert Suárez, Keegan Akin, Dietrich Ennds, Rico Garcia, Yaramil Hiraldo and Grant Wolfram threw at Ed Smith Stadium.

Among those hitting were Samuel Basallo, Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser, Jeremiah Jackson, Heston Kjerstad, Coby Mayo, Tyler O’Neill, Adley Rutschman and Reed Trimble.

Enrique Bradfield Jr. will be leaving camp on March 1^st to play for Team Panama in the World Baseball Classic and Albernaz is trying to get him ready for the competition.

“We want to make sure he’s going to the WBC ready to play,” he said. “The running, the workload, even if he has to play left or right to get at-bats, he probably isn’t going to play there, but it’s not his ability to play center field, because he can and make sure he’s ready to go with the WBC.”

What’s up with Reed Trimble? The Orioles added the 25-year-old outfielder, a second-round pick in 2021, to the 40-man roster in November. Trimble hit .259 with an .827 OPS in 90 games at four affiliates. He stole 21 bases without being caught. He’s stolen 61 bases without being caught in 226 minor league games.

“I was really excited. It was actually my dad’s birthday,” Trimble said of his reaction to the 40-man move. “I got to tell him the news. It was pretty surreal, knowing how these past few years have gone, hardly being on the field from ’21 to the start of ’24.”

Trimble doesn’t want to be typecast as a speed guy.

“I like to think I can affect the game in every single way,” he said. “From hitting to defense to speed. We have a lot of pretty fast guys on the team anyway … My speed could be used in a lot of different ways, whether on the bases or in the outfield.”

“He’s had some injury history in the minor leagues, but the tools jump out at you — the speed, the bat, the way he plays outfield,” Albernaz said. “We don’t want to put ‘fifth outfielder’ on him. I think the ceiling is higher. He has time to develop. You don’t want to go out and overexpose him. There’s a lot of guys we can talk about who’s really exciting, and he’s on that list.”

What’s what? Fans seem pleased with the increased access to Orioles’ spring training workouts. Free admission continues through February 19^th, and fans will still be able to watch pregame workouts when Grapefruit League games begin on February 20^th.

What’s the word? “It was an exciting offseason for the organization, just the aggressiveness, the additions we made. It was one after another, after another, still happening. I’m excited to meet all these guys, to welcome them in. They’ve been great so far, the guys I’ve interacted with down here. This is a really exciting year for us.”–Westburg on the Orioles’ additions.

What’s the number? 67. Leody Taveras was originally assigned No. 40. Chris Bassitt has long worn 40.

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com