Orioles' Gunnar Henderson drops encouraging update on oblique injury

Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson delivered a good update on his oblique injury with Spring Training set to begin.

The Baltimore Orioles have become one of the fastest-rising teams in the MLB. In 2023, the Orioles won 101 games en route to claiming the AL East crown, an incredible achievement given how stacked that division is. And one catalyst behind their rise to becoming one of the best teams in the league is shortstop Gunnar Henderson, the 22-year old who has given the Orioles a franchise cornerstone to build around in the middle infield.

However, Henderson, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, is dealing with a bit of a minor injury with the start of Spring Training beckoning. Nonetheless, the Orioles shortstop said that he's progressing well in his recovery from a left oblique injury and that he thinks he'll only miss a few of the team's first few contests to begin their stint in the Grapefruit League, according to Jake Rill of MLB.com.

This is good news for Orioles fans, as Gunnar Henderson has quickly become the team's most important player. Not only does he provide comfortably above-average production in the power department, he is also a provider of positive production on the basepaths and on the field. Henderson is a multi-talented player who has made the most out of his considerable tools, and he's only going to get better.

In 2023, Henderson played in 150 games for the Orioles, staying mostly healthy amid the team's rise to the top of the AL East. He put up a slash line of .255/.325/.489; while has room to improve when it comes to getting base hits and getting on base, and he also has a penchant for striking out often (25.6 percent), he is a lethal weapon for the team to have in the middle of the lineup. Protecting his health will be of utmost importance as the Orioles try to take the next step in World Series contention.

With Gunnar Henderson set to miss the Orioles' first few Spring Training games, the team will have a chance to take a closer look at Jackson Holliday's production at shortstop. Holliday's expected emergence just goes to show how deep the Orioles are, which means that they can be very careful when it comes to re-integrating Henderson back into the lineup.