The Baltimore Orioles' pursuit of the New York Yankees in the American League East took a hit on Monday when the team placed first baseman Ryan Mountcastle on the 10-day Injured List with a left wrist sprain. The move is retroactive to Friday.

Baltimore has called up deadline acquisition Livan Soto from Triple-A Norfolk to replace him. It also released Nick Avila, who was designated for assignment last week.

Mountcastle sustained his injury during the Orioles' 6-0 loss to the Astros last Thursday. He exited the game in the ninth inning after hurting his wrist sliding into second base. He did not play the remainder of the weekend and Baltimore made the move during its off-day on Monday before starting a series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers on Tuesday.

In 118 games this season, the 27-year-old Mountcastle is hitting .265 with 13 home runs and a .730 OPS, playing exclusively at first base or DH.

Mountcastle's injury comes amid a mini slump for the righty. He's hitting .195 over his last 11 games with two walks in 43 plate appearances.

While the team has said nothing definitively, the timing may provide some comfort to Orioles fans. Teams rarely make IL moves on days off. There is, however, a three-day maximum to place a hitter on the IL retroactively, meaning Monday was the last day the Orioles could do that. That seems to indicate Baltimore does not expect Mountcastle to need more than the 10-day minimum and he could be back in as soon as a week.

We'll learn more when manager Brandon Hyde speaks to the media at Dodger Stadium.

Of the players on Baltimore's current roster, Ryan O'Hearn is the only one to see significant time at first this year. O'Hearn has played 29 games at first base and fielded the position over the weekend with Mountcastle sidelined. Overall, he is hitting .269 with 12 homers in 113 games.

Ryan Mountcastle injury opens door for Livan Soto

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Soto has played for three organizations so far in 2024. Most recently, the Orioles acquired him on trade deadline day along with Austin Slater in exchange for a player to be named later.

The 24-year-old infielder has hit well across three Triple-A teams in 2024. In 88 games, he's batting .283 with a .758 OPS. He's been even better since the Orioles acquired him — he's hitting .325 for Norfolk over 12 games.

Soto made his Major League debut in 2022 with the Los Angeles Angels, impressing as a September call-up. He hit .400 in 55 at bats down the stretch with a .475 average over the final 12 games of the season. He started 2023 in Triple-A, however, and the Angels placed him on waivers over the offseason.

2024 has been a whirlwind for Soto. The Orioles initially claimed him in February only for the Angels to take him back less the two weeks later. The Angeles designated him for assignment in early April and the Orioles claimed him again — before DFA'ing him days later. The Reds then claimed Soto, only to trade him back to the Orioles at the deadline.

Through it all, he's managed one Major League game in 2024, going 0-3 with the Reds.