Mullins, Westburg react to return from injured list; Orioles option Kjerstad, designate Rivera for assignment

BALTIMORE–The Orioles on Tuesday reinstated centerfielder Cedric Mullins and infielder Jordan Westburg from the 10-day injured list. Mullins had a strained right hamstring and Westburg a strained left hamstring.

Mullins, who was hitting .232 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs, last played in May 28th and didn’t require a rehab assignment. They join outfielder Colton Cowser, who returned from a fractured left thumb a week ago.

“The team’s been playing good the past week,” Mullins said. “Guys getting healthy is always good for the sake of the team, sake of morale.”

Interim manager Tony Mansolino is excited to have much of the projected 2025 Orioles back.

“Everybody in Baltimore is excited,” he said. “And we’re still missing a couple, and we’re still missing pitching, too. Guys that hopefully come back at some point down the road. Whenever you have two guys that walk in like Jordan and Ced, you feel great.”

Westburg, who hasn’t played since April 26th, was hitting .217 with four home runs and six RBIs. In eight rehab games for Norfolk, Westburg hit .393.

“It’s way too long on the IL for my liking,” Westburg said. “A month was a long time to go without some baseball so early on I felt I was starting all over again, but towards the end of the week there, I was started to feel a lot better. I feel like I’m in a good spot physically.”

The Orioles had hoped to have Westburg back much sooner. His rehab assignment was delayed by a few weeks.

“A setback. I don’t think I was ready to handle the workload we had planned out,” he said. “The blame is not on anybody. Those things happen with soft-tissue stuff.”

Westburg has been described by Mansolino as the glue behind the team, and though he deflects that praise, he’s eager to help.

“I was underperforming before I got injured, kind of searching for things offensively,” he said. “I certainly didn’t figure it out, but I was better than before I left off.”

Outfielder Heston Kjerstad was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, and infielder Emmanuel Rivera was designated for assignment. Kjerstad was hitting .192 with four home runs and 19 RBIs. Rivera was hitting .232 with three RBIs.

“We set out a specific plan for him,” Mansolino said about Kjerstad. “We saw it more as an opportunity to make some adjustments and some changes. I think what we didn’t want to do was just say: ‘Hey, go get ’em.’ That’s not the right message when a guy struggles as talented as he is, as good as the kid is, can be. There’s something that we’re missing.”

Mansolino thinks that Kjerstad can improve offensively and defensively.

“There are ways to get better,” Mansolino said. “There are major league players getting better on a daily basis in the outfield … There’s absolutely a path forward. He’s got to take it.”

Kjerstad was the second overall pick in the 2020 draft, and the Orioles haven’t given up on him.

“We expect to see him back at some point and be the guy we think he can be,” Mansolino said.

The Orioles have eight players remaining on the injured list. The two most likely to return next are catcher Gary Sánchez, who has a right wrist injury, and outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who has a left shoulder injury. Mansolino doesn’t think either will be activated this week. More likely, they’ll return next week when the Orioles travel to Tampa.

Outfielder Jordyn Adams has cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Norfolk.

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