The Baltimore Orioles pitching staff is currently resembling a medical ward. Right-hander Kyle Bradish, who missed the first month of the season with a UCL sprain, now appears to be missing more time.
Bradish is headed back to the injured list with the same ailment, via baltimorepositive.com's Luke Jones.
“The Orioles have placed Kyle Bradish on the 15-day injured list with a right UCL sprain,” Jones tweeted. “They’ve recalled left-hander Nick Vespi from Triple-A Norfolk.”
Furthermore, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde doesn't have a timetable yet, via MASN's Roch Kubatko.
“Hyde said Bradish will undergo more tests before #orioles decide next step,” Kubatko tweeted.
Bradish left his start against the Philadelphia Phillies Friday after five innings, due to the elbow discomfort. He allowed two runs on three hits, with four strikeouts and one walk.
The 27-year-old was doing well thus far in his third season, posting a 2-0 record with a 2.75 ERA and 1.07 WHIP across 39.1 innings. However, UCL injuries are a pitcher's worst nightmare, and it's not a good sign to re-aggravate the same ailment so quickly.
If Bradish needs Tommy John surgery, how will Baltimore recover?
The Orioles may need last-minute reinforcements
The club may be forced to make trades at the deadline if Bradish doesn't heal up quickly, via FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
“They just announced that he's going on the injured list,” Rosenthal said. “That obviously is not a great sign. He's going to go for more tests. It's a tough spot for Bradish, of course, and a tough spot for the Orioles. You've already lost two starters, John Means and Tyler Wells to season-ending elbow surgeries, and if you look at them with Bradish, man. Corbin Burnes, Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez top of the rotation, that's an excellent postseason group.”
Speaking of the postseason, Baltimore won't reach its October goals without a healthy stable of arms. While the aforementioned trio would be ideal in the playoffs, Bradish's injury makes it feel more like a dream than a likelihood.
“But, without Bradish, if he's out for a long period, they may have to look at the deadline for starting pitching as well,” Rosenthal continued. “We know they'll be in the market for relief pitching, they've been in that market already. But starting pitching might be another need.”
Of course, the Orioles also lost closer Felix Bautista for the year. Craig Kimbrel has filled in nicely, as he hasn't blown a save since April 26th, but he isn't considered the long-term solution.
With Baltimore sitting at 45-24 and 3.5 games out of first place in the AL East, expect it to be one of the most aggressive buyers at the deadline. The club has done a nice job weathering the storm, but continuing to bank on a thinned-out pitching staff is a fool's errand. No team in the history of baseball has ever won the World Series with a depleted and/or subpar stable of arms, and that trend is unlikely to stop now.
Dethroning the Yankees atop the division will take shrewd and aggressive midseason moves to round out the depth chart.
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