Kittredge offering encouragement among injured Orioles, Mullins and Henderson bat 1-2, O'Hearn stays hot

Among the nine Orioles on the injured list, reliever Andrew Kittredge appears to bring the most promising outlook, and that’s as much a statement about the team’s misfortunate as his recovery.

Grayson Rodriguez seemed to be trending in the right direction, with multiple bullpen sessions indicating that he might be getting closer to facing hitters in live batting practice and on a rehab assignment. However, yesterday’s session was nixed because of soreness in his right shoulder that cropped up earlier in the week.

A pause of any length is significant, since it interferes with the ramp up process, and having to restart his progression would be a painful blow. There’s also a worst-case scenario that doesn’t need to be verbalized.

The Orioles need top starter Zach Eflin’s stay on the IL to be relatively brief, but he’s recovering from a lat strain and won’t be ready for reinstatement when eligible on Wednesday. He threw in the outfield for the first time two days ago, so facing hitters isn’t an immediate goal.

“I’m hopeful at this point that his stay on the IL will be measured more in weeks than in months,” said executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias.

“At the end of the day I’m trying to get back as soon as possible,” Eflin said. “I’m not interested in missing a lot of time.”

Neither was Kittredge after having surgery in March to repair cartilage in his left knee following his only exhibition appearance and an attempt to warm up for a second. Kittredge, who signed a $10 million deal, underwent an arthroscopic debridement procedure in Baltimore and was expected to miss most or all of the first half.

“It was a broad timeline, I guess,” said Kittredge, who expressed more optimism than the Orioles that he’d get back faster.

Kittredge was walking without crutches and a brace shortly after the surgery and recently ran sprints in the outfield. He’s also throwing bullpen sessions and could move on to live batting practice within the next two weeks.

Elias described Kittredge as continuing to “fly along with the rehab.” That’s another way of saying that he’s ahead of schedule.

“There is a possibility that he puts himself in position to be activated before the end of May,” Elias said.

That would give the Orioles one of their high leverage relievers for a decent chunk of the first half. His absence has stung, especially with Albert Suárez on the IL with a strained subscapularis muscle that should keep him out until “much later in the season,” Elias said. We’re talking months here.

Kyle Bradish might rank second behind Kittredge in optimistic updates, but he isn’t expected to pitch again for the Orioles until the latter half of the summer. He threw a bullpen session this week and feels great, according to Elias.

“Knock on wood this is kind of flying along in terms of what you hope for from a Tommy John surgery,” Elias said.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t do anything to soften the blows for a team trying to hold together its rotation and find five healthy starters. Kyle Gibson could join the Orioles by May 1. He’s made two appearances with Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles finally need a fifth starter on Saturday following a pair of off-days and a rainout, and Brandon Young appears to be the choice. Suárez, Trevor Rogers (knee subluxation) and Chayce McDermott (lat strain) are hurt. The depth is disappearing.

Bullpen games can be a last resort, but Hyde said they’d like to avoid it. Keegan Akin, Matt Bowman and Scott Blewett could work a couple of innings and the Orioles are carrying an extra reliever, but the damage done can impact future games.

* Cedric Mullins led off last night for the second time this season, which is two more than 2024.

Mullins ranks first on the club in most offensive categories and in fWAR. The hot bat got a bump.

Gunnar Henderson batted second and had a home run and double by the third inning. He didn’t collect an RBI before last night and is 11-for-46 since returning from the injured list.

“I want to slow the game down for Gunnar a little bit,” Hyde said. “I just think he, talking with him, let him watch an at-bat. He’s a little bit rushed right now. You can tell he’s in a little bit of a hurry. But not only that, Cedric, how he’s playing the game right now and his ability to get on base and the power-speed threat. If you can have that before Gunnar and Adley (Rutschman), that’s a big factor.

“I’ve always had this in mind. Ced for me wasn’t going the last couple years, not as consistent as he had been a few years ago. Kind of going in and out. And being a big RBI guy for us, too. So with Gunnar the way he is right now a little bit and Ced the way he is, hoping he gives us a little bit of a spark before the middle of the order.”

Both of Henderson’s hits last night were smoked to left field, and he embraced the new dimensions.

“It’s a lot nicer being able to look at that wall compared to the other wall,” he said. “The ball that I hit out probably would’ve two-hopped the old wall. It’s a lot nicer being that one.”

Mullins was the primary leadoff hitter, occupying the spot in 149 games in 2021 and 141 in 2022 before injuries, a dip in production and struggles against left-handers pushed him down the order. He hit seventh 46 times last season, eighth in 32 starts and sixth in 24.

The 30/30 version of Mullins or anything close to it could get him atop the order on a regular basis.

“That’s an All-Star player, that’s a guy who plays in the WBC,” Hyde said. "So yeah, that type of player, you want him up as much as possible.”

* Ryan O’Hearn is on a hot streak with home runs in his last two games. His average improved to .326 with a .991 OPS.

The Orioles got O'Hearn from the Royals in a cash transaction on Jan. 3, 2023 and they didn't waste much time outrighting him off the 40-man roster. He had to earn his way back onto it and now is a middle-of-the-order bat against right-handers.

“As far as my baseball career goes, this is without a doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me,” he said. “You guys know this. I was thinking about Japan. I was thinking about what am I going to do next. And getting an opportunity to play here, get comfortable and kind of grown as a player, it seems like the last two and a half years have flown by.

“It’s been so fun, man, being able to play with these guys, being on a good team, playing meaningful baseball late in the season, playing in October. Things like that. So I’m eternally grateful to the Orioles. I don’t take it for granted. I love showing up for work every day.”

The media loves that he’s available and one of the best quotes. The Orioles appreciate his work on the field and leadership in the clubhouse.

“He goes up there and battles his butt off each and every night,” Henderson said. “It’s really awesome playing with him and being his teammate. He’s an unreal guy. The way that he goes about his business out there, it’s really fun to be around him and see him do it.”