Watkins is healed and hoping to help Orioles this season

Spenser Watkins can laugh about it now, accepting if not embracing his status in the world of bizarre injuries.

Covered in dirt after attempting a diving tag at home plate on a wild pitch, Watkins stepped inside the team’s bathroom at Harbor Park in Norfolk to wash his hands. A simple task except Watkins cut his right ring finger on the bottom edge of the porcelain sink.

“I clipped it on a sharp spot,” he said yesterday, before the Triple-A Tides’ games in Memphis. “It just started bleeding right away. It was kind of a weird thing, and it was in the worst spot in terms of issues with throwing.”

Other factors influenced the injury, like the ball staying near the batter’s box and luring Watkins to the plate, where he went in head-first. Which made him want to clean the hand. Which caused the laceration.

Watkins won’t unseat former Orioles outfielder Marty Cordova, who was scratched from a 2002 lineup after falling asleep in a tanning bed and burning his face. Day games were prohibited to keep him out of the sun. Or, on the broader major league scale, Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. being hit on the elbow by a champagne bottle last fall during a playoff celebration.

Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler injured his middle finger in 2020 while putting on his pants. Carlos Correa, the Astros shortstop in 2019, sustained a fractured rib during a home massage. Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa sneezed and sprained a ligament in his lower back in 2004.

Watkins’ story almost seems boring by comparison, but he couldn’t pitch for a month because of the gash. Any stay on the injured list is serious. The jokes could evolve later.

“I feel like my body’s definitely back at 100 percent,” said Watkins, who made a two-inning start on May 18 and allowed four runs in 2 1/3 relief innings on Wednesday. “The staff here did a good job in coordination with the Orioles and those guys, keeping me able to do whatever I could dealing with the finger first off. So, whenever I came back, I felt really good. Was just working on some feel stuff, not being able to throw for a week or so. Took a little bit of time to get back to having a feel for throwing all my pitches. I throw quite a few, so it takes a little bit of time.

“But everything feels really good and everything is progressing each time I’m out there, so it’s just been really good.”

The cut was just beneath the last knuckle on the finger, as poorly located for a pitcher as a hanging changeup.

“That’s more so the issue than the severity, in terms of throwing a baseball,” he said. “But it healed up nice and good, and the buildup process was really good, too.”

Watkins is back in his hybrid role of starter and long reliever. Nothing is set with him. An exact definition doesn’t happen in the majors or minors.

Cole Irvin’s return to Norfolk’s rotation eliminates a spot. Grayson Rodriguez was optioned, so that’s two.

Bruce Zimmermann has made nine starts, and DL Hall and Drew Rom eight apiece. Watkins made four among his five appearances.

“It’s kind of the way it’s been working out in terms of guys’ scheduling, all the movement and things like that,” he said. “For me, it’s been a little bit of a universal role. Wherever they see me as an option.

“That’s kind of the name of the game for me.”

Watkins has learned patience over the years, but he’s tested now by knowing the Orioles’ rotation is unsettled. Reliever Austin Voth appears to be the favorite to start Wednesday in Rodriguez’s spot, but it could be temporary if it happens. John Means strained a muscle in his upper back and won’t be reinstated from the injured list before August.

The Orioles are de-loading Hall, cutting back on his innings before ramping him up again, and he allowed six runs in 1 2/3 Tuesday in Memphis.

The bullpen also has undergone more shuffling, with Keegan Akin recalled to provide length. Exactly what Watkins does as a right-hander.

“You see opportunities to help the team. That’s why we’re in Norfolk and staying ready, to be able to do that whenever the team needs us,” said Watkins, who was recalled April 14 and optioned three days later without appearing in a game.

“There’s definitely an eagerness to be at your best so that when that call does come, you’re ready to go. Not pushing too hard to rush through anything and over-analyze it too much, but I want to get myself at 100 percent and I’m ready to go whenever an opportunity comes.”