Akin, Santander back with Orioles, though not activated - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Rich Dubroff

Akin, Santander back with Orioles, though not activated

BALTIMORE—Pitcher Keegan Akin and rightfielder Anthony Santander have been cleared by Major League Baseball to rejoin the Orioles, though neither has been activated. Akin and Santander were placed on the Covid-19 injured list on July 21st.

“Both are going to go through a workout today,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Akin’s going to throw a side, We’re going to evaluate both of them after today. Tony’s going to take [batting practice]. He’s going to run around a little bit, do some defensive stuff, and we’ll then decide on both guys the next couple of days.

“We want to get them on the field. It’s been a week. Get them on the field, get them moving around and then see how their legs are and make a decision on them.”

Akin was set to start on the 21st, but the Orioles announced that Akin and Santander were going on the injured list less than two hours before the game.

The left-hander is 0-5 with an 8.10 ERA and hasn’t pitched since July 16th. Santander, who missed a month earlier this season because of a sprained left ankle, is hitting .231 with six home runs and 26 RBIs.

“You can’t do a whole lot. Taking a week off and then ramping back up to play right away isn’t realistic,” Hyde said. “From a health standpoint, you want to make sure they’re moving around and healthy, get Tony to run the bases as well as take some live batting practice and get ready to play.”

Akin could return to the rotation, go to the bullpen or to Triple-A Norfolk.

“After the side [session], we’re going to re-evaluate what we’re doing,” Hyde said. “We haven’t made any decision on that yet.”

Akin isn’t scheduled to start in the four-game series in Detroit that starts Thursday.

“We’re going to see how he comes back from his ‘pen,” Hyde said. “Either juggle the rotation or put him in the ‘pen. We’ll figure something up.”

Santander’s stats in 2021 haven’t been what the Orioles were expecting.,

“That’s why it was disappointing,” Hyde said. “I felt like right before that, the last few days, he was running around differently [after recovering from the sprained ankle]. I saw more bat speed. His ankle starting feeling better, and this happened. Hopefully a little more rest, even though he’s had no at-bats for seven days, that sets you back, too.

“Hopefully, he can finish strong and the week rest can do him good, heal up the ankle a little bit more. He says he feels good. We’ll see how it goes.”

Trade talk quiet: There was no news on possible Oriole moves as Friday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline approaches. Their opponent, the Miami Marlins, were busy. They sent outfielder Starling Marte to the Oakland Athletics for pitcher Jesús Luzardo and reliever Yimi Garcia to Houston.

Starling played against the Orioles on Tuesday night. Garcia did not pitch.

Minor league update: Adley Rutschman had a two-run home run, his16th, and leftfielder Kyle Stowers had three hits in Double-A Bowie’s 5-2 loss to Richmond.

Gray Fenter started and allowed a run on one hit in 3 2/3 innings. He walked four and struck out five.

Coming up: The Orioles play four games in Detroit beginning Thursday. Alexander Wells (1-0, 4.35 ERA) will face Casey Mize (5-5, 3.63) on Thursday. Matt Harvey (5-10, 6.65) will face Tank Skubal (6-9, 4.43) on Friday. John Means (4-3, 2.94) will face Matt Manning (2-3, 6.00) on Saturday. Spenser Watkins (2-1, 3.10) will face Tyler Alexander (1-1, 4.80) on Sunday. Thursday’s and Friday’s games begin at 7:10 p.m. Saturday’s starts at 6:10 p.m. Sunday’s game time is 1:10 p.m.

RAVENS NEWS from BaltimoreSports.com

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