Adley Rutschman is back on the injured list with an oblique strain. The Orioles catcher missed time earlier this year with a left oblique strain. It’s the right oblique this time. The team announced the roster move ahead of Thursday’s game against the Astros. Outfielder Daniel Johnson was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk as the corresponding roster move.
One player who’s not on the injured list, at least for today, is Jordan Westburg. The infielder remains day-to-day with an ankle issue. The Orioles
do have infielder Vimael Machín around on the taxi squad in case he ends up being needed.
Interim manager Tony Mansolino probably won’t say it yet, but the oblique injury could mean Rutschman is done for the 2025 season. The earlier injury saw Rutschman out between June 19 and July 28. Add a month and eight days from right now and it’s after the end of the regular season.
If so, it’ll be a disappointing end to the season for Rutschman. He’s got the worst hitting numbers of his career to date, batting .227/.310/.373 over 85 games. Just about the only thing going well is his walk rate. In bWAR terms, he’s finished with half of last year’s number, a 1.7 mark for the season. It’s not a terrible full-season pace, but he’ll only have about a half-season worth of games. The Orioles are going to need better than this.
I’m going to be curious to see whether the Orioles add a third catcher back onto the roster at some point now that they know Rutschman is out for a while. Without him, it’s just Alex Jackson and Samuel Basallo. Mansolino told reporters that Basallo is going to be the every day catcher in Rutschman’s absence, at least for the duration of the coming homestand. I wonder if it lasts beyond that.
