There is some more information about when the Baltimore Orioles might expect three of their injured pitchers to make their way back to the roster.
Through the first 18 games of their season, the Baltimore Orioles are 12-6, which is the third-best record in the American League.
What’s impressive is that they’ve been able to perform this way with two of their starting pitchers being placed on the injured list during spring training. That caused a rotation shake up where expected bullpen pieces became starters.
The Orioles got more tough news when it was revealed Tyler Wells had elbow inflammation and they had to move him to the IL.
Manager Brandon Hyde gave an update about when these players might return to action and it sounds like they might still be patching together their starting unit for a couple more weeks.
From Brandon Hyde:
– Kyle Bradish’s next rehab start will be in Triple-A, likely Sunday or Tuesday
– Tyler Wells is w/ the O’s in KC as he recovers. Hyde said Wells is just dealing with elbow inflammation & hope is he’s back soon
– John Means still needs to be stretched out more— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) April 19, 2024
If Kyle Bradish doesn’t make his next appearance until Tuesday, then he likely won’t return until May.
He made his first rehab start on April 16 and was dominant against Double-A hitters, throwing three scoreless innings and only giving up one hit.
Starting on Sunday would be the normal five-day window between starts, meaning he might be much closer to returning than if he needed to wait a week until pitching again.
Bradish only threw 44 times during his last outing, so he still needs to build up his arm.
That seems to be the case for John Means as well, with Hyde saying they need to continue stretching out the length of his appearances.
It’s easy to see why, too.
In four starts with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate, he’s given up 15 earned runs in just 7 1/3 innings pitched, while also allowing 14 hits, five homers, and five walks.
The Orioles skipper recently hinted that Means might have to wait until May to be ready enough to rejoin the team.
It will be interesting to see what they do with Tyler Wells as he’s remained with the team despite being on the injured list. He previously had Tommy John surgery, so the precautionary IL move was to make sure the right-hander doesn’t pick up something more debilitating.
Reading between the lines of what Hyde said, it sounds like Wells might be the closest out of these three players to returning.
