The strong season of Orioles rightfielder Anthony Santander appears to have ended because of a strained right oblique muscle.

Santander hurt the oblique in the eighth inning of the first game of a doubleheader with the Yankees on Friday night, and the Orioles placed him on the 10-day injured list on Saturday. Santander, who started summer training late because of Covid-19, played in the club’s first 37 games.

Santander leads the team in home runs (11) and runs batted in (32). He has a .265 batting average and .890 OPS.

“He got checked out this morning,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said in his Saturday morning video conference call. “He’s going to miss a significant amount of time.”

With just 22 games left in the season, Hyde said “it’s a definite possibility” that Santander’s injury is season-ending.

“That’s why, when we lost that first game, I was disappointed in that. I had a feeling when he came out of the game, that didn’t’ look good,” Hyde said. “That one definitely hurt. Tony is a huge loss for us.”

Santander had an 18-game hitting streak last month, the club’s longest in more than six seasons. He also has played a strong right field.

“I was really happy with the year that he’s had,” Hyde said. “He’s just really come on the map for me. All the positive things I said about him toward the end of last year, he’s improved even more. A huge loss for us, and he’s really disappointed.”

Hyde said that DJ Stewart would get a long look in right field for the rest of the season. He’s hitless in 16 at-bats, but has nine walks.

The Orioles purchased the contract of outfielder Mason Williams from the Bowie alternate site. Williams hit .182 (2-for-11) in seven games before he was designated for assignment on Tuesday.

Hyde said that centerfielder Austin Hays, who has been on the injured list because of a rib fracture since August 15, could play “sometime during the next couple of weeks, hopefully.”

The Orioles also optioned right-handed pitcher Evan Phillips to their alternate site and recalled right-hander David Hess from Bowie.

Phillips is 1-1 with a 4.09 ERA in 11 games. Hess had a 6.43 ERA in three early-season appearances.

The Orioles also claimed right-handed pitcher Carson Fulmer on waivers from Pittsburgh. Fulmer was claimed by the Pirates from Detroit on August 24th but didn’t pitch for Pittsburgh. He had a 6.75 ERA in seven games for the Tigers this season.

The 26-year-old pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 2016-2019, and was 6-9 with a 6.56 ERA in 51 games, 15 of them starts.

Fulmer’s addition fills the 40-man roster.

The Orioles added infielder Rylan Bannon to the 60-man player pool. He reports to the alternate site at Bowie. His addition fills the 60-man player pool.