The Orioles will have to try to keep their winning streak going without All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman. The team announced on Monday afternoon that Rutschman has been placed on the injured list due to inflammation in his left wrist. Corresponding moves had catcher Chadwick Tromp’s contract selected from Norfolk, with outfielder Rudy Martin designated for assignment to clear a space on the 40-man roster.
As with Blaze Alexander’s injury when a Royals pitcher hit him and fractured a bone in his hand, this one stinks. Rutschman is one of the team’s best players and being without him for any length of time will be an obstacle that they’re going to have to overcome to continue the improvement in their fortunes that they’ve experienced over the last seven games. Can they manage to do that? We’re going to find out. We may not like finding out.
This is now the third trip to the injured list this season for Rutschman. The previous two involved an ankle injury and a concussion. He hasn’t missed an extended amount of time in either of the previous IL trips, so hopefully that’s how it works out again this time. As of this writing, the team has not provided an update regarding Rutschman’s injury or what kind of timetable might be involved in getting him back into good health.
In the short term, the Orioles are also going without Samuel Basallo, which is why Tromp was selected to replace Rutschman even though the team already had brought Sam Huff into the mix yesterday. Basallo departed Sunday’s game early due to shoulder discomfort. I think we can guess that Basallo isn’t going to be capable of playing at least for today. We’ll see how long they drag out a day-to-day injury without putting him on the IL. Missing Rutschman and Basallo both would be even rougher than just missing Rutschman alone.
You may be an Orioles roster sicko if you remembered that Rudy Martin was on the 40-man roster. The team acquired the 30-year-old Martin from the Royals on Friday for cash considerations. That was marginally interesting, in that Martin has never made it to the majors and had exercised what amounts to a “call me up or trade me” option in his minor league contract before the Royals dealt him to the Orioles. He might be wishing that a different team had acquired him now. We’ll know in a few days if he clears waivers.
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