James McCann on Orioles' injuries: “I’d say not surprised as much as, ‘Here we go again'"

DENVER - The reaction is about what you’d expect. Players watch a teammate sustain an injury and struggle to comprehend the reasoning or keep count.

Zach Eflin is reinstated from the injured list and starts yesterday’s series finale in Colorado, less than 24 hours after a 103.1 mile line drive slams into Dean Kremer’s right arm, creating a Rocky Mountain high welt above his wrist. The Orioles were dumped again into their gain-one, lose-one way of life.

Kremer has avoided the injured list and perhaps the off-day Thursday works in his favor. But he lasted only 3 1/3 innings and manager Brandon Hyde used six relievers in a 7-5 loss. Hyde said yesterday that he’d be surprised if Kremer started in the next four or five days.

Ramón Urías is hit on the nose by a 93.8 mph sinker, stays in the game and rolls his ankle covering third base. He’s on crutches and the 10-day IL, putting the Orioles’ hottest hitter on ice for an indefinite period.

If it wasn’t for bad luck …

“Kind of a disappointing night,” said Orioles first base coach Anthony Sanders. “But just really worried about Dean and Urías, and then especially him getting tipped with the nose and then now the ankle after that. Just got to cross our fingers and just hope that we can just stay healthy down the stretch.”

That would be a pleasant change from the usual routine.

Misery loves company, as they say, and the Orioles know that the baseball gods aren’t just picking on them. They wonder why again and then survey the baseball landscape.

“If you really look at the big picture you do,” Sanders said, “but then as you look around the league and look at all the other injuries that are happening, just got to stay afloat and next-man-up mentality.”

Catcher James McCann stood at the railing Saturday night with a mixed sense of disbelief and déjà vu. Trust me, it makes sense on this club. In the crazy year 2024.

“You hear the comments in the dugout when it happens,” he said before his home run and double in a 6-1 win. “I’d say not surprised as much as, ‘Here we go again.’

“It gets frustrating. Especially, Urie’s been kind of carrying the torch a little bit on the offensive side for a few weeks now. Dean’s obviously a huge part of our pitching staff. The frustrations just continue to mount when it comes to that. But it’s the same thing we’ve said all season long. We can’t let it take us down. We’ve got to keep fighting, we’ve got to find a way, next man up.”

Another player could come up later today with catcher David Bañuelos likely one-and-done again. The Orioles selected his contract yesterday for the third time because he was nearby, one of the big perks of residing on the taxi squad.

A 40-man roster spot would open with Bañuelos designated for assignment. The Orioles could summon an infielder with Urías hurt, and with Liván Soto’s lone appearance with them in a pinch-running capacity.

Nick Maton wasn’t in Norfolk’s lineup last night and he’s batting .261/.368/.477 with 12 doubles and 16 home runs. He was up briefly in June, less than a week, and was outrighted.  

Jean Segura was granted his release yesterday and J.D. Davis isn’t hitting, if that matters. Davis, who started at third base last night for the Tides, could be a fill-in at the corners with Urías and Ryan Mountcastle on the IL.

I expected outfielder Forrest Wall to be in play for a promotion but the Orioles designated him for assignment yesterday after he was 4-for-11 with a home run. He was the only Norfolk outfielder on the 40-man. Daniel Johnson, with 21 homers for Norfolk, was on the taxi squad for a day.

The roster churn isn’t gonna slow.

Reliever Nick Anderson seems to be nearing a call from the Orioles after opting out of his Dodgers minor league deal to seek a better opportunity.

Reliever Colin Selby tossed three scoreless and hitless innings with the Orioles, but they needed a fresh arm and sent him down. He could be back. Don’t dismiss left-hander Trevor Rogers, who followed his disastrous Norfolk debut start by allowing only two runs and three hits over six innings. And don't forget that Brandon Young is on the radar screen, his visibility increasing last night with one run allowed in five innings.

Reliever Jacob Webb began his injury rehab assignment last night with a scoreless and hitless inning for the Tides. That could be an extremely short assignment.

That’s probably it for me on this travel day. I’ll be back Tuesday.