3:23 pm: Director Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun) means he has a muscle strain in his forearm. Heading south to further tests to determine if there is any structural damage, Hyde said the pots will be without their top pitcher “for some time.”
2:15 pm: The Orioles announced on Friday that they had placed their left hand John Maines In the 10-day list of injured due to left elbow strain. In place, they chose to hold the right hand Travis Lakens From Triple A Norfolk. left-handed Kevin Smith He was moved to Norfolk after the concessions were removed, thus opening a place on the List for Lakens.
It’s an inauspicious IL position for the Means, who have had Baltimore’s best (and consistently serviceable only) start since 2019. The 28-year-old southpaw carries a 3.72 ERA with a 21.2% strike rate and 5.1% excellent walking rate through 353 1/3 rounds in That time – including 3.38 ERA in two rounds starting this season. Mean, however, came off his most recent outing due to a tight forearm, which is often a precursor to an elbow injury. O has made no further announcements about the extent of the strain or a possible timeline for the return of the means, although the strain, by definition, involves at least some degree of stretching or rupture.
Lakens, 27, will return for a third consecutive season of major league action with the O. He scored a solid 2.81 ERA in 25 2/3 innings for the Birds again in 2020, albeit with more questionable peripheral stats (on In particular, the walking rate is 11.2%). He threw another 28 rounds with the Orioles in 2021 but saw the pendulum swing the other way on his results, as opponents knocked him out to hit 5.79 ERA.
Sixth-rounder by the Red Sox in 2015, the Lakins spent parts of three seasons in the Majors and amassed a 4.21 ERA in 77 frames, albeit with an under-par 19.7% strike rate and 11.7% walk rate. He’s posted similar numbers in 66 career rounds at the Triple-A level, too.
As for Smith, the 24-year-old left-footed player has only made two rounds with his first 7 2/3 innings at the Triple-A ball this season. However, he also released six tracks against only three strikes at the time – a continuation of last year’s annoying tendency to issue free passes. Smith didn’t have major control issues before hitting Triple-A, but since debuting at that level in 2021, he’s walked 18% of the 306 opponents he’s encountered. Combined with only an average hit rate, these issues with ball positioning have resulted in him not being claimed by all of the other 29 teams. He will stay with O and hope to resolve these driving issues.
