Santander returns to Orioles’ lineup: No bullpen changes for now

WASHINGTON—The Orioles activated outfielder Anthony Santander from the 10-day injured list on Friday. Santander had been on the injured list since April 21st because of a sprained left ankle.

Santander is batting fourth and playing right field. Manager Brandon Hyde likes having another threat behind Trey Mancini, who leads the majors in RBIs with 39.

“Anthony doesn’t have a ton of at-bats right now,” Hyde said. “Batting behind Trey was part of the consideration.”

Santander was off to a slow start before his injury, hitting .196 with two home runs and eight RBIs.

“This is a game of adjustments,” Santander said through a translator. “There’s times when you’re hot at the plate. There are times when you’re cold. The main thing is that I’m back on the field, and I’m ready to help my team out, ready to work hard every day to make those adjustments and help the team out.”

Santander missed more than a month and needed to quarantine for four days after a three-game rehab assignment with Double-A Bowie, where he hit .333 (4-for-12).

“The timetable was two to four weeks, depending on how I was feeling after that second week and moving forward,” he said. “The important thing now is that I’m back.”

Santander’s injury looked scary when it occurred in Miami on April 20th. His foot slid across the bag when he was getting back to first on a pickoff throw, and he turned the ankle. He had to be helped off the field.

“I’ve heard of other injuries where the ankle actually breaks,” Santander said. “Mine was just a severe sprain. I felt very thankful to God and the training staff for helping me get back on track. It took me three-plus weeks, but I’m back here.”

The Orioles have lost 10 of their last 12 games, making Santander even more eager to return.

“It’s pretty  tough, it’s been frustrating, especially when you’re not on the field, trying to help your teammates out,” Santander said.

No changes in bullpen: Even though the Orioles bullpen has been working overtime recently, there weren’t any changes for Friday’s game against Washington.

“We did consider it,” Hyde said. “We’ve been banged up. There are a few guys that are going to be down. Hopefully, we can catch our breath and get some guys some rest.”

Hyde didn’t rule out changes.

“It was a consideration, and it’s going to be a consideration all series. We’ve thrown a lot of innings of the bullpen the last few weeks.”

Coming up: Bruce Zimmermann (2-3, 4.79 ERA) will facesJon Lester (0-2, 3.80) on Saturday at 4:05 pm. Matt Harvey (3-4, 5.93) will face Patrick Corbin (2-3, 6.10) on Sunday.