WASHINGTON—Third baseman Jordan Westburg had Tommy John surgery to repair a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on Wednesday, Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said before Friday’s Orioles-Nationals game.
“Pretty normal Tommy John surgery,” Elias said. “Obviously, this will put him out for the rest of the year. I think it’s too early to put a specific timeline on something like this.
“Him being back as a full player in the early part of 2027 is very much in play, but we’ve got to wait and get going on the rehab, and I think it’ll be a long time before we have more exact clarity on that part.
“Obviously, that’s a huge blow for the team, and it’s an unexpected one. It wasn’t anything that we were braced for coming into the year.”
Westburg had a platelet-rich plasma injection in February in the hopes that the elbow would heal sufficiently to allow him to play this season. After the 27-year-old infielder increased the length and intensity of his throwing, he felt discomfort and rest was prescribed before visiting Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles.
“To Jordan’s credit, he wanted to try everything he could to come back and help the team this year and help the team as an infielder, but it just wasn’t working out with the conservative route. So we went ahead and got the surgery, and I don’t think much of anything was lost in terms of his 2027 timeline, so that’s why we went with that approach.”
Westburg has been on the injured list four times in the last three seasons.
“Whenever a guy like him has had a bunch of little different injuries, it turns into a thing,” Elias said. “But there’s nothing chronically in his body that should prevent him from having a whole healthy major league season again.
“He keeps getting struck by lightning when it comes to injuries. It’s a major injury that’s usually fixed by the surgery. He should be fine. He should be himself.”
Westburg has been strong on defense and compiled a .264 batting average, 38 home runs, 127 RBIs, 251 hits and a .768 OPS in 260 games with the Orioles since making his debut in 2023. It was exciting to picture an infield of first baseman Pete Alonso, second baseman Jackson Holliday, shortstop Gunnar Henderson and Westburg at third. However, the Orioles have been playing without him and Holliday, who continues to rehab his right wrist after his hamate bone was removed.
“He’s a huge part of making the team click, so we’ll do our best to grind on without him,” Elias said. “We didn’t plan for this outage, and there wasn’t any indication that his was going to be the base until the very first week of spring training when he was reporting this elbow soreness for the first time.
“We’ve been having to scrap it together at third base. This has been exacerbated by Jackson Holliday being out simultaneously. It’s pushed around our infield options to try to fill two spots at once. I think the guys that are out there are doing a great job. Weston Wilson’s got a .700 OPS. Coby Mayo just kind of [got] thrust back into third base unexpectedly this spring.
“We’re seeing some good flashes there, and he’s a talented player, and he’s getting a lot of at-bats because of it, and Jeremiah Jackson’s done a really good job at second, and we’ll continue to work through all of this the best we can.”
The Orioles have Holliday playing third base at Norfolk.
“He’s still getting his groove and getting his feet under him, but I think he’s healthy this time, and I think that’ll help stabilize the situation, but I think it’s really third to fill an everyday third baseman’s shoes like Jordan Westburg’s.”
Elias said that Holliday should play third base a couple of times this weekend with the Tides.
“I hate to do that to him,” Elias said. “It’s so quick and sudden, but he did come up as a shortstop and he’s got experience on the left side of the infield … It’s not necessarily something we’re going to force on Jackson, but we figured as long as he’s on the rehab assignment and he’s comfortable with it, we want to get him a little bit of experience at third, just in case.”
In other injury news, closer Ryan Helsley, who’s on the inured list with right elbow inflammation, threw for the first time at Nationals Park on Friday, and it went well, Elias said.
First baseman/designated hitter Ryan Mountcastle, who broke his left foot running the bases, won’t return until late June or early July, he said.
Elias on trades
Elias is always looking for upgrades even though few trades are made at this point in the season.
“It’s a little early to really have the type of trade market that you want to work with there,” he said. “Thankfully for us, the American League standings are really knotted up right now, so it’s just not a real robust trade market, but we are, as we always are, but we’re very active with some of these holes that we have for injuries right now, just poking around, seeing what’s out there.”
Right-hander acquired
The Orioles acquired right-handed pitcher Eduarniel Núñez from the Athletics in exchange for cash considerations. Núñez was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.
Núñez was 1-0 with a 7.11 ERA in 10 games with San Diego and the Athletics last season.
To make room for Núñez on the 40-man roster, right-hander Christian Roa was designated for assignment.
Notes: High-A Frederick outfielder Nate George, the team’s top minor league prospect, is on the injured list due to illness. “It’s going to be a while. Everything’s fine. It’s something that’ll work out over time.” Elias said. … Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Reed Trimble is out with right hamstring discomfort.
Orioles-Nationals lineups
Orioles
Gunnar Henderson-SS
Taylor Ward-LF
Adley Rutschman-C
Pete Alonso-1B
Samuel Basallo-DH
Tyler O’Neill-RF
Colton Cowser-CF
Coby Mayo-3B
Jeremiah Jackson-2B
Shane Baz-RHP
Nationals
James Wood-RF
Luis Garcia-DH
Curtis Mead-1B
CJ Abrams-SS
Daylen Lile-LF
Brady House-3B
Jorbit Vivas-2B
Drew Millias-C
Jacob Young-CF
Zack Littell-RHP
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