Bradish to begin season on injured list, Means also expected to be unavailable on Opening Day

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles’ pitching depth will be tested early.

Kyle Bradish will begin the season on the injured list with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right elbow. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection and begins a throwing progression on Friday.

John Means is a month behind the other pitchers after experiencing elbow soreness before the playoffs, and he’s also expected to land on the IL.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias is becoming known for dropping injury news on the first day of camp. He was at it again this morning.

Bradish, who finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting and started Game 1 of the Division Series, felt some irritation in the elbow last month while throwing. An MRI confirmed the injury.

“As a result, he’s behind,” Elias said.

“The early returns are very encouraging and everything is in a really good spot right now. … That progression is something that’s going to take some time and everything is pointed in the right direction and going well right now at this time, but I’m not at a point where I want to start putting a timeline on when we’re going to see him in major league action. But right now we’re prepping him for a lot of action in 2024 and we’re getting him ready for that as expeditiously and responsibly as possible, but there’s going to be some time involved. If that plan materially alters, we will update you at that time, but right now he’s getting going tomorrow with some throwing and we’re hopeful that we have things pointed in a good direction.”

Means recovered from Tommy John surgery and muscle tightness in his upper back to make four starts, but he was excluded from the Division Series roster after the elbow flared up during a simulated game at Camden Yards. He told the media at the Birdland Caravan that he felt good and “should be ready to go.”

The treatment for Means’ injury involved extended rest, “so we put him on ice for a few months,” Elias said.

“That carried over into early 2024 in January, and as a result he was not able to do the typical throwing preparation that he does in January, like he would in a normal camp situation. But he’s doing that now. So, effectively, he is about a month behind the other starting pitchers. You’re going to see him throwing. He’s on the mound right now, he’s doing his progression, but we’re still in the phase of getting his health restoration from the end-of-season injury back into the place that we want to prepare him for the entirety of the season.

“You’ll see him out there, but he’s not somebody that we’re expecting to be a significant presence on the field in the Grapefruit League until he’s fully ready for that.”

Tyler Wells and Cole Irvin are the leading candidates to plug holes in the rotation behind former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, who’s getting the Opening Day assignment after being acquired from the Brewers for pitcher DL Hall and infielder Joey Ortiz. Bruce Zimmermann also will compete, and the Orioles have Chayce McDermott, Cade Povich and Jonathan Heasley in camp.

The bullpen also is impacted because Wells and Irvin figured to fall back into it if Dean Kremer broke camp as the fifth starter.

Elias said he felt urgency to pursue a starter prior to Bradish’s elbow injury and Means’ delayed timeline.

“It shaped the rotation pursuits a little differently at that point, but I wouldn’t say that it materially impacted our desire to add somebody like Corbin Burnes,” Elias said. “That was on the wish list from Day One of the offseason. I think certainly this is a demonstration of why you need a lot of starting pitchers, so these kinds of things will happen. We’re very hopeful to get (Bradish) back and get all of these guys out on the field together at some point in 2024.”

Elias downplayed any long-term concerns over the health of Bradish’s elbow and the ligament.

“I think we have it in a really good spot right now, and our plans are to get him pitching in 2024,” he said. “Pitching, it’s a dangerous business nowadays, you never like to hear anybody have elbow or shoulder or wrist injuries or what have you, but there’s a lot of people that have had them and never have to get surgery and rest and other treatments do the trick. So, hopefully, that’s where we’re at with this one. I just don’t want to get out ahead of myself in terms of anything beyond where we’re at in this moment, and that’s starting his throwing program and trying to keep everything on track in getting him healthy and prepped to help this team go into the playoffs.”

Elias warned against making comparisons between the elbow injuries to Bradish and closer Félix Bautista, the latter forced to undergo Tommy John surgery in October and a recent follow-up procedure to remove scar tissue and improve range of motion.

“That was at the end of the season, and frankly it was pretty evident there that he was going to need a surgery in the short-term,” Elias said.

The pursuit of pitching hasn’t ceased – no pun intended.

“We’re still looking,” Elias said. “I don’t know that I can prognosticate any additions. There’s obviously still people out there. We’re remaining on the phones. I do want to be clear that we’re expecting both of those guys back, so I don’t want to go crazy ringing the alarm bells there. But even if we had all of our guys perfectly healthy right at this moment, I would not be expecting them to stay perfectly healthy all season long, so you do have as much pitching depth as we can.

“I think we have a really interesting Triple-A group here, guys that finished in Triple-A last year that are here. Seth Johnson is back on line and healthy. We’ve got some real interesting pitchers here in camp, but we’ll keep an eye on what’s out there.”

Catcher Samuel Basallo, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 17 prospect in baseball, noticed some discomfort in his right elbow around Thanksgiving that Elias described as “aggravation.” Tests were conducted, and Basallo was diagnosed with a stress fracture.

“This is something that we see a lot in throwers in his age group,” Elias said. “We’ve had some of them recently since I’ve been in the organization, and it’s typically a bump in the road, it’s not a big deal and they heal. And right now he’s in the process of that recovery.”

Basallo is catching bullpens and interacting with the pitching staff and coaches, gaining valuable experience, but he’s unable to throw. He’ll serve as a designated hitter in exhibition games.

“His throwing and game-catching is probably something that we’re not going to see until very deep into April,” Elias said. “But that’s looking like a matter of time.”

Infielder Gunnar Henderson, the American League’s Rookie of the Year, experienced some mild oblique aggravation about two weeks ago while working out at home and performing baseball activities. His status for Opening Day isn’t threatened.

“I would characterize this as really typical early spring baseball player oblique side muscle stuff,” Elias said. “We’re thinking it’s going to be two-to-three more weeks before we’re out of it. Hopefully, he doesn’t miss too much time in this camp at this point in time. We don’t expect him to, but he’s going to be a little late seeing him in game action because of that.”

Ronald Guzmán, a former first baseman converted to left-handed pitcher, hasn’t reported due to a visa issue.

Pitcher Nathan Webb, signed to a two-year minor league deal after undergoing Tommy John surgery last spring, remains in his rehab phase but is expected to pitch later in the summer. He won’t be a camp participant, instead getting exposure to the medical staff and everyone else in the organization.

“That’s all I have in terms of injury updates at this time,” Elias said. “I’m sure we’re going to have more as part of baseball, but we feel like we’ve got the depth and the talent and the numbers here to navigate whatever’s coming, and we’re ready for a long season.”

"Injuries are just part of this game," said manager Brandon Hyde. "I feel good about the depth that we have and hopefully (Bradish) will be back soon. It's just a part of it. That's why you have a 40-man roster and bring a lot of people to camp. Kyle had a great year for us last year and hopefully he can join us real soon."

Hyde said he's assuming that Means also won't make the Opening Day roster.