Injuries are everywhere for 2025 Orioles

NEW YORK—Maverick Handley was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before Saturday’s game because Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman went on the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique. It’s the first time that Rutschman has been on the injured list since he joined the Orioles in May 2022.

Handley had already been with the Orioles for more than six weeks this season when the Orioles’ other catcher, Gary Sánchez, was on the shelf with an elbow injury.

He arrived in time for Saturday’s game and was in the lineup on Sunday. But in the bottom of the second, Handley and the Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm collided near home plate when leftfielder Colton Cowser’s throw was up the third base line. Handley had to leave the game.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino said he was being evaluated, and it’s possible Handley could be the 11^th player on the injured list.

The Orioles have already had 17 players for a total of 21 different stints on the injured list, the most in Major League Baseball, and they currently have 10.

Eleven of the 13 position players on the projected Opening Day roster have been on the injured list. The only players to escape are second baseman Jackson Holliday and first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn.

“The season’s a grind,” Holliday said. “It doesn’t seem like a contact sport like football. You play a lot of games and it’s taxing. Everyone wishes injuries weren’t a part of the game. You wish you had your guys here all of the time. It’s tough to stay healthy.”

Of the 10 players currently on the IL, four are position players. Besides Rutschman, there’s first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who’ll be out until at least August with a strained right hamstring; infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo, who has left elbow inflammation; and outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who’s been on the IL twice and has played only 24 of the team’s 77 games.

O’Neill, who has a left shoulder injury, began a rehab assignment on Sunday with High-A Aberdeen.

Left-handed pitcher Cade Povich is on the 10-day injured list with left hip inflammation, and right-handers Kyle Bradish, Cody Poteet, Grayson Rodriguez, Albert Suárez and Tyler Wells are on the 60-day IL.

The Orioles are hoping they can avoid another IL stint for Jordan Westburg, who returned on June 10^th after six weeks away because of a strained left hamstring. Westburg jammed his left index finger stealing second base in the first inning of Saturday’s game. Interim manager Tony Mansolino hopes Westburg can play within two or three days.

Cedric Mullins was out for 11 days with a strained right hamstring, but his wasn’t serious.

“I was able to avoid something that was bigger than what it could have been, so you want guys to stay healthy, you want guys to be able to play at their best and not have to deal with injuries throughout the season,” Mullins said. “It’s just unfortunate.”

Mullins had two trips to the injured list for adductor/groin strains in 2023 when the Orioles had the fewest players on the injured list in the majors.

“Year to year, you never know how guys’ bodies will react to the season,” he said. “It is frustrating to have guys come back, have some success and then go back down for whatever may be going on. At the end of the day, the next man can step up. It’s just a matter of doing just that.”

Holliday’s youth may be part of the reason he’s been able to avoid missing time this year.

“It’s a definitely a helpful thing. You can’t avoid everything, but it’s definitely helpful to be a 21-year-old. It’s a long season, but I’m fortunate to be healthy.”

Mansolino took over a team that has been ravaged by injuries, but ever the optimist, he tries not to wallow in them.

“I try to find solutions,” he said. “I won’t allow myself to think about it. I wake up in the morning, doing this and being in this situation, the interim role and what this whole thing entails. There’s a lot of things you could think about every morning when you wake up, the injuries included.

“I gravitate towards this in all phases of my life, it’s not about the problem at hand, it’s about what the solution is, and sometimes you find it, and sometimes you don’t … We have a lot of injuries. There are some solutions out there. We just have to find what they are.”

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.