Orioles pregame notes on Bautista, Means, Gibson's nomination and more

BOSTON – Orioles closer Félix Bautista played catch again today, increasing the distance on flat ground during his second session after a brief pause.

The club is downplaying the significance of it.

Bautista also threw in Anaheim while on the injured list with discomfort in his right elbow, described only as a “right UCL injury.”

“We’re going to see how he feels,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “We’re just kind of monitoring it day-to-day. It was just kind of a see how he feels, play a little catch today.”

Asked if Bautista throwing is a good sign, Hyde said, “I wouldn’t put any emphasis positive or negative about it. He was playing a little bit of catch, kind of seeing how he feels today.

“He played catch a couple days ago in Anaheim, but like I said, I wouldn’t put any stock into it.”

John Means is joining the team in Boston and will go through a bullpen session Saturday afternoon. His rehab assignment expired today.

“He’s going to get looked at by our medical staff, pitching coaches, and then we’re going to go from there, see how he is after the bullpen tomorrow,” Hyde said.

Means started Wednesday night at Triple-A Norfolk and should be reinstated from the 60-day injured list by early next week.

“That’s a huge moment for him,” Hyde said.

“Not easy to be thrown right in the middle of September in a pennant race, but it’s exciting for us to have Meansie back in uniform. Watch his side tomorrow and go from there.”

Triple-A Norfolk shortstop Joey Ortiz’s left oblique tightness is improving and he remains day-to-day.

The Red Sox are starting Chris Sale and Brayan Bello in the last two games of the series. The Orioles are starting Jack Flaherty and Grayson Rodriguez.

Kyle Gibson drew a media crowd this afternoon after being the Orioles’ nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, the third time in his career that he’s received the honor, including 2019 with the Twins and 2022 with the Phillies.

“Kyle’s been an amazing mentor to our young pitching staff,” Hyde said. “He takes the ball every fifth day, he’s leading the league in wins (14), which means he’s pitching well with the lead. Has just done a great job in our clubhouse with our young pitchers, with our team in general. He’s got a ton of energy in the dugout during the game, and he does amazing work off the field. Incredibly unselfish. Doesn’t surprise me at all. He’s just a really good guy that’s unselfish in so many ways.

“Cares about others and wants to give and wants to give back. Just a really special guy.”

Gibson and wife Elizabeth vowed to carry their charitable work to Baltimore after he signed his $10 million free agent deal. The heavy lifting isn’t new to them. And they do more than just write checks.

The couple has gone on mission trips to Haiti and the Dominican Republic with the non-profit “Big League Impact,” which helps people meet basic human needs such as food, clean water, medical care, shelter and education. They have fought human trafficking and assisted in the building of a school in Haiti’s Ferrier Village that serves as a refuge for orphaned children who have been rescued or are at an elevated risk. School supplies and hot meals are provided.

“It’s kind of two-fold,” Gibson said when asked for his reaction to his latest nomination. “Elizabeth and I don’t do the work to try to get any nominations or any recognition. And honestly, for us, if we can get more publicity to the organizations that we work with and more eyes on them so that other people can maybe have a connection with a cause that they’re passionate about, maybe find something in Baltimore or internationally or wherever they live that they can feel connected to, is really our goal.

“But I told these guys whenever I found out, the work that we’ve done this year here in Baltimore couldn’t be done without those guys. We wouldn’t be able to do Topgolf without the 15 guys showing up. (Ryan) McKenna is doing a fantasy football league with us. The stuff we’ve done on the road, it just doesn’t happen unless other guys are committed to doing it, as well. So hats off to those guys for jumping in right away.

“Elizabeth and I have tried to make a point, each team we’ve been with, get connected with community. This is home for us for six months of the year. We feel like we’ve been put in a spot to be able to help people and that’s what we want to do.”