Rich Dubroff

Helsley placed on family leave/bereavement list by Orioles, Espada recalled

The Orioles placed their closer, Ryan Helsley on the family leave/bereavement list before Wednesday’s game with the Kansas City Royals.

Helsley, who was the losing pitcher in Tuesday night’s game, is 0-2 with a 2.79 ERA and six saves in 11 games.

He was replaced on the roster by right-hander Jose Espada, who’s been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. Espada was 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA and one save in eight games for the Tides.

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Espada pitched three scoreless innings in one game for the Orioles last season. He also pitched for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.

Helsley had pitched in consecutive games and wasn’t expected to be available on Wednesday.

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

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Rich Dubroff

Rich Dubroff grew up in Brooklyn as a fan of New York teams, but after he moved to Baltimore, quickly adopted the Orioles and Colts. After nearly two decades as a freelancer assisting on Orioles coverage for several outlets, principally The Capital in Annapolis and The Carroll County Times, Dubroff began covering the team fulltime in 2011. He spent five years at Comcast SportsNet’s website and for the last two seasons, wrote for PressBoxonline.com, Dubroff lives in Baltimore with his wife of more than 30 years, Susan.

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