Orioles’ Rutschman on track to play before season’s end; Updates on O’Neill, Westburg

SAN FRANCISCO—Catcher Adley Rutschman, who is on the 10-day injured list with a strained right oblique, is progressing well, Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said on Friday. Mansolino thinks with just over four weeks left in the season, Rutschman will play some games.

“All indications at the beginning of the injury, the assessment, the imaging was yes,” Mansolino said. “It seems like it’s trending fine. There’s no baseball activities going on now. In talking with Adley, my hope is that, yes, he’ll play 10 days, two weeks would be great if we get to that point.”

Outfielder Tyler O’Neill is also back in Baltimore. He’s on the injured list with a right wrist inflammation.

“We’re hoping he grabs a bat this weekend and starts swinging,” Mansolino said. “We tried it once. It was sore. Kind of had to retreat a little bit, got a second injection. Hopefully, this next go-round, it sticks.”

While Rutschman and O’Neill aren’t on the road trip, third baseman Jordan Westburg is. Westburg has a sprained right ankle.

“I think the fact that he’s here tells you he’s getting closer,” Mansolino said. “He is swinging the bat. The body feels great swinging the bat. Throwing, the ankle feels good. Running, feels better. It’s the side-to-side type stuff, the cutting and twisting. Running is going to be the last piece for him.

“We’ll see where it lands. If he plays on this road trip, he’s exceeding expectations. I think it’s more likely he plays some type of baseball when we get back home.”

Mansolino thinks it’s important that injured players come back and play before the end of the season.

“I think it’s more mental.” Mansolino said. “The fact that you go and play in a big league game, you finish out the season with your buddies, your boys, your teammates. I think that’s important. It indicates that you’re healthy at the end of the year. You enter the offseason as a healthy player, which means you’re taking time off. Your body’s recovering. You starting in a normal cycle … If you finish the season on the shelf, you’re continuing your rehab. Your normal cycles may not be the same.”

Notes: Tyler Wells will pitch in one of the three games in San Diego. That series begins on Monday. … Jorge Mateo is on track to join the team on Monday when the rosters expand from 26 to 28.

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