Orioles move Means to 60-day injured list; Club says it’s a left elbow sprain; Diplán added

BALTIMORE—The Orioles clarified starting pitcher John Means’ injury as they transferred him from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. The Orioles initially called the injury a left elbow strain but said it was a left elbow sprain on Sunday.

“Nothing changes from yesterday,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He’s getting second opinions and [being] looked at, going to look further at his elbow. He’s going to be out a while.”

When Hyde was asked on Saturday if Means would pitch again in 2022, he said he didn’t know. “That’s a question mark right now.”

Means was placed on the 10-day injured list on Friday, retroactive to Thursday. By putting him on the 60-day injured list, it takes Means off the 40-man roster and opens a spot for right-hander Marcos Diplán, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Norfolk. Left-hander Alexander Wells, who threw two scoreless innings on Saturday night, was optioned to the Tides.

“Alex Wells won’t be able to pitch for a couple of days, so to get an extra arm,” Hyde said. “Bring Diplán here. He did a really nice job here last year for us, filling a variety of roles, giving us multiple innings. He had a good spring training. We added him to help us out in the bullpen.”

Last year, Diplán was 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 23 games. He allowed a run in 2 1/3 innings in spring training. In five games for Norfolk, he pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings with a save.

“I pitched him with the lead. I pitched him when we were down,” Hyde said. “He ate innings for us, just want him to do what he did last year, which was to be durable and cover innings for us.”

The Orioles need a starter in Means’ place on Tuesday night in Oakland, and it could be right-hander Chris Ellis, who isn’t on the 40-man roster. Hyde said Tuesday’s starter was “TBA.”

Note: Centerfielder Cedric Mullins is not in Sunday’s starting lineup. It’s a rest day, Hyde said. Ryan McKenna will start in center field.

“What you’re seeing around the league right now, there’s a ton of injuries,” Hyde said. “A lot of injury stuff going on. Keeping our guys as healthy and fresh as possible is really important right now.”