NFL
By: Kameron Brice
The Baltimore Orioles were projected to have a breakout year in 2024. All the talk this summer has been about Corbin Burnes, the newly acquired ace, and the next stages for the youthful combination of Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson.
However, they had no idea that injuries would disrupt their entire season. Kyle Bradish, an Orioles pitcher who finished fourth in the CY Young voting in 2023, was diagnosed with a damaged UCL in his right arm during spring training. John Means, on the other hand, began the season on the injured list with a left forearm injury.
The Orioles knew as opening day drew near that they wouldn’t have Kyle Bradish or John Means to lead them off, but it didn’t matter because they had guys like Rodriguez, Burnes, Wells, and Kremer to step up and play a major role until Means and Bradish could return.
Even without two of their best pitchers in the rotation, the O’s were still an excellent team. They were 19–10 at the beginning of the season, but they knew that Bradish and Means, who were supposed to return in May, would be providing some assistance.
Now that May has arrived, the Orioles are playing at a high level. After his first four starts of the season, John Means had a 2-0 record with a 2.61 ERA and appeared to be his best self. However, on May 31, it was revealed that Tyler Wells and John Means would both require elbow surgery; Tyler Wells had been diagnosed with a UCL strain, while Means had an updated Tommy John diagnosis.
This put the Orioles in a difficult situation because they had just returned Bradish from an injury, and losing two starters from your rotation this early in the season left many fans wondering what they would do, but then the injuries began to pile up. Kyle Bradish confirmed on June 19th that he had undergone Tommy John surgery, therefore ending his season. This was a tough blow for the Orioles, as their 27-year-old was regarded as one of baseball’s best pitchers in 2023, with hopes of winning the Cy Young award in 24. The Orioles have no choice but to seek other options to replace him. They’ve already started looking at potential replacements and hope to discover the right player soon
Then, on June 19th, Danny Coulombe, the Orioles’ top bullpen arm, underwent surgery to remove chips from his left elbow, with the intention of returning in September.
This began an injury pattern that would endure the entire season, as Jorge Mateo was the next player placed on the injured list after partially dislocating his shoulder on July 23rd in the series opener in Miami.
So what was the next step for the Baltimore Orioles? How could Mike Eloas stop the injury bleeding that was affecting the whole staff?
On July 25th the O’s pulled off a big move as they acquired right-handed starter Zach Eflin from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for three more players: outfielder Matthew Etzel, righty Jackson Baumeister, and utility player Mac Horvath. Then on July 30th the Baltimore Orioles acquired Trevor Rogers from Miami, with infield prospect Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers going to the Marlins in return.
You expected things to improve if they didn’t already. The Orioles suffered another major setback when all-star second baseman Jordan Westburg fractured his hand when he was hit by a pitch on July 31st, sending him on the injured list with the aim of returning in September. Then Jacob Webb, one of the Orioles best bullpen arms, was placed on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation with hopes to reunite in early September.
The injuries started to affect the O’s and you could tell by their play in July and August as they had a combined record of 25-28 as the team was dealing with multiple injuries and trying to stay afloat at the top spot in the AL east but then on August 6th Grayson Rodriguez was scratched 10 minutes before his scheduled start due to discomfort in his right lat and was placed on the 15 day IL with hopes to return to the rotation before the end of the regular season.
Then their newly acquired pitcher Zach Eflin was placed on the 15-day IL but returned on September 1st with no major or minor setbacks
All these injuries in 6 months brought a team that was expected to win the AL East and be one of the best teams in baseball to people questioning if they would even make the playoffs
Now in September the Baltimore Orioles sit at 81-60 1st place in the AL East as they are expected to get Grayson back very soon with the help of newly acquired pitcher Zach Eflin and comeback player of the year Albert Saurez. The O’s hope the baseball gods can push them in the right direction.
