WEST SACRAMENTO -- A key piece of the Orioles’ lineup is set to miss most of the summer.
Interim manager Tony Mansolino announced Friday that first baseman Ryan Mountcastle’s right hamstring strain has been diagnosed as Grade 2 after the 28-year-old recently underwent an MRI. Mountcastle is expected to miss 8-12 weeks from the time of the injury, which was sustained when he exited a May 30 game vs. the White Sox.
“We love Mounty, he’s a huge piece of this for us,” Mansolino said. “He’ll be back at some point, whenever we get him. It’s incredibly disappointing. I feel for him, the group feels for him, but we’ve got to move forward. We’ve got some good players here that will step up and pick up the slack.”
A six-year MLB veteran, Mountcastle was hitting .246 with 13 doubles, two homers, 15 RBIs and a .628 OPS through 52 games. However, he had a strong May after a slow start to the season, hitting .298 over 23 games last month. Mountcastle had seven hits in his last 12 at-bats before getting hurt.
With Mountcastle out, Ryan O’Hearn and Coby Mayo (Baltimore’s No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 17 overall) will continue to split time at first base moving forward. Mayo started at first for Friday’s series opener vs. the A’s at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento.
The O’s will miss Mountcastle’s Gold Glove-caliber defense at first. But O’Hearn is solid at the position, and Mayo should continue to get better with more experience there. Mayo may be further along at first than he is at third, where he spent a large amount of time in the Minors.
Mayo has a ton of offensive potential, so the 23-year-old could help offset the loss of Mountcastle if his bat gets going.
“He’s been in there almost every day. He’s getting an opportunity,” Mansolino said. “There’s a lot that goes into play there. We ultimately have to write the lineup to win the game that night. ... That’s what frames the decision of who plays and who doesn’t.”
Although most of the Orioles’ injury luck this season has been bad -- there are 10 players currently on the injured list and others have missed time as well -- most of the non-Mountcastle-related news of late has been positive.
Outfielder Colton Cowser returned from a left thumb fracture on Tuesday in Seattle.
Outfielder Ramón Laureano was reinstated from the 10-day IL on Friday after missing a little more than two weeks due to a left ankle sprain. The 30-year-old, who played two rehab games for Triple-A Norfolk, returned to Baltimore’s lineup as the designated hitter in the No. 3 hole for Friday’s game.
“He’s a heck of a player -- it’s offense, it’s defense, it’s baserunning, it’s leadership,” Mansolino said of Laureano. “There’s some power, there’s some walks, there’s some first-to-thirds, there’s some bags. That’s a huge personality, different than Cowser but similar to Cowser in how it affects us. Really excited to have him back.”
Infielder Jordan Westburg (left hamstring strain) has played six rehab games for Norfolk and could return next week. Outfielder Tyler O’Neill (left shoulder impingement) was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Friday, but Norfolk’s game at Louisville was postponed due to rain.
Backup catcher Gary Sánchez (right wrist inflammation) has played two Triple-A rehab games before getting a scheduled off-day on Friday.
Center fielder Cedric Mullins (right hamstring strain) has started running and is expected to resume baseball activities soon. The 30-year-old could need a rehab assignment before returning.
The Orioles are optimistic that getting closer to full health will help them turn their year around. There has been recent momentum, as Baltimore (25-36) had won a season-high six consecutive games and nine of 11 heading into Friday’s action.