NEW YORK -- The trajectory of the Orioles’ 2025 season has been correlated to their health.
When Baltimore’s roster was banged up early, the team struggled and dug itself a hole. As the O’s got players back from the injured list in recent weeks, their play improved and they started to chip away at their large deficit in the standings.
Now, the injury bug has returned and has halted much of the Orioles’ latest positive momentum.
On Saturday, Adley Rutschman was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain, marking the first time the 27-year-old catcher has gone on the IL in his four-year MLB career. Then, Jordan Westburg exited the O’s 9-0 loss to the Yankees at Yankee Stadium with a left index finger sprain.
Baltimore has now had 21 players spend time on the injured list this year, with 10 currently on the IL.
There doesn’t appear to be too much concern about Westburg, who jammed his finger while stealing second base in the first inning. X-rays were negative, and the 26-year-old infielder is day to day, meaning he could avoid going on the IL for the second time this season. (He was previously out from April 27-June 10 due to a left hamstring strain.)
“Kind of knew right away that something was weird because the sliding mitt was bent and just got more stiff and stiff as the inning went on,” Westburg said. “I wanted to stay in there. There’s nothing that pains me more than coming off the field.”
However, Rutschman could be sidelined for a while. The Orioles recalled Maverick Handley -- who played 15 games during his first stint in the Majors from April 28-June 14 -- from Triple-A Norfolk to serve as the backup to Gary Sánchez, who started behind the plate both Friday and Saturday in the Bronx.
Interim manager Tony Mansolino said Rutschman’s side “flared up” during batting practice. He was then scratched from the lineup ahead of Friday’s 5-3 win because of left abdomen discomfort, getting replaced at designated hitter by Jackson Holliday.
“[Head athletic trainer] Scott [Barringer], smart guy, been around this a long time, pulled the plug right away just to make sure,” Mansolino said.
Through 68 games, Rutschman is hitting .227 with nine doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 20 RBIs and a .691 OPS. But the two-time American League All-Star was heating up this month, hitting .309 with two doubles, three homers, five RBIs and an .890 OPS in 15 June games.
Rutschman, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, has been a fixture in Baltimore’s lineup since arriving in the big leagues in May of ‘22. He even avoided the IL when he missed two games last month after getting hit in the head by a foul tip off the bat of Rafael Devers on May 25 at Fenway Park.
“He’s been super durable, especially for a catcher,” Mansolino said.
The Rutschman-less lineup fared well Friday, when the Orioles plated three runs in six innings against Yankees left-hander Max Fried and used a two-run eighth to secure a victory.
Things didn’t go as well Saturday, when New York righty Clarke Schmidt tossed seven hitless innings. Baltimore didn’t record a knock until Sánchez’s single off right-hander JT Brubaker to open the eighth, which ended up being the O’s lone hit of the afternoon.
For now, it seems like the Orioles are confident in utilizing the backstop duo of Sánchez and Handley even if Rutschman misses extended time. Samuel Basallo (Baltimore’s No. 1 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 15 overall) has not been discussed as a potential option, per Mansolino.
“We haven’t talked about him, just to make it perfectly clear,” Mansolino said. “But from my point of view, just as a development guy -- I’m a long-term development guy -- what I would love to see is him absolutely knock the door down.
“I don’t think you take a guy like Sammy Basallo and you bring him to the big leagues just because there’s a need. I think you bring a Sammy Basallo to the big leagues when he’s destroyed Triple-A in all facets of the game -- his at-bats, his defense, everything. So when he destroys Triple-A and he knocks the door down, to me, then he becomes part of the conversation. I don’t personally think you bring a guy to the big leagues with that type of profile until that happens.”
Entering Saturday, the 20-year-old Basallo was hitting .266 with six doubles, 15 home runs, 31 RBIs and a .963 OPS through 46 games for Triple-A Norfolk this season. He has played catcher and first base since returning from a left hamstring strain in late April.
The O’s (33-43) had won 14 of their previous 20 games before Saturday. Now, they’ll try not to let the latest ailment negatively impact them too much.
“We’re playing some good baseball right now. I know today didn’t look great, but the past couple weeks have been very positive,” Westburg said. “There’s a lot of things good to take away from the past couple weeks, so we hope [Rutschman’s] back and this is a short stint, but for the rest of the guys in this clubhouse, I think it’s the next-man-up mentality and find a way to win ballgames.”