Orioles updates on Webb, Coulombe, Bautista and more

Much of today’s pregame talk with the Orioles centered on their bullpen and the gains made by injured relievers.

Jacob Webb said he’s experiencing improvement in his right elbow and is encouraged with his progress since his placement on the 15-day injured list with inflammation.

Webb will begin playing catch this weekend.

“I’m feeling good,” he said. “I feel like it’s getting there. It’s toned down, which is definitely helpful.”

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias referred to the discomfort over the weekend as the elbow “barking.”

“It’s nothing I’ve experienced before,” Webb said. “It was related to my nerve and it was just a little bit inflamed. Hopefully it will subside and calm down and we’ll get back to it.”

As usual, there’s no timetable set for a return to the active roster. Webb hasn’t pitched since Aug. 2 in Cleveland, when he made back-to-back appearances totaling 2 2/3 innings.

“It’s kind of day-to-day,” he said. “I feel like once everything calms down and I start to play catch and whatnot, that will be the telltale sign. That’s mainly when I was feeling it anyway. I won’t really know until I start throwing a ball again.”

“He’s not going to be with us in the next week or so,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “It’s going to be a little bit of time.”

Webb and Yennier Cano are tied for the team lead in appearances with 53. Webb allowed two runs in the seventh inning on Aug. 1 and tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings the following day.

“It just kind of came out of nowhere, to be honest,” Webb said. “I felt good in Cleveland and then right after those two outings there it just kind of sparked up a little bit. But it’s definitely trending in the right direction. I’ve gotten 10 or 11 days off now of not really picking up a baseball at all, so hopefully that gave it some time to heal and calm down, and hopefully I’ll be back soon.”

Danny Coulombe, on the 60-day injured list after having surgery to remove bone chips from his left elbow, is cleared to throw but is in the “entry stage” of his progression, according to Hyde. He's also with the team.

“He’s still on the same timetable,” Hyde said. “He’s doing really, really well, but he’s sometime September, hopefully sooner than later. Yeah, we miss Danny.”

Félix Bautista had his first bullpen session today since his Tommy John surgery in October. He was throwing on flat ground until today’s advancement to a mound.

Bautista won't pitch in 2024. The Orioles want him ready for spring training.

* Coby Mayo is making his sixth start at third base tonight and searching for his first hit. He’s 0-for-15 with two walks, both in his debut in Cleveland, and 10 strikeouts.

“When guys come up, you obviously want to see them get off to a good start and it’s been a little bit of a struggle for him so far, but hopefully he can get that first one tonight and play well for us,” Hyde said.

“I think this level is harder than anybody ever thinks, and so it’s really, really normal to go through early struggles and it’s more normal than not. Sometimes, it takes a little bit of a while to adapt to the big leagues.”

* Ryan O'Hearn's two singles last night gave him 400 career hits in his seven major league seasons.

O'Hearn has 190 hits in 214 games with the Orioles. He totaled 210 in 342 games with the Royals.

* The Orioles had a nice representation at today’s Ravens practice in Owings Mills. Players in attendance included Gunnar Henderson, Craig Kimbrel and Cedric Mullins. Hyde got in some quality time with coach John Harbaugh.

“It was really cool,” Hyde said. “I stood there with John behind some 11-on-11 drills, watched Lamar (Jackson) do his thing. The size and the speed is so cool when you’re that close. And John’s just an amazing person who’s incredibly generous. We were sharing culture stuff a little bit and I was talking about our season. He’s really excited about his team. That was a lot of fun to have that conversation.

“A lot of these guys watch Orioles games on a nightly basis. A lot of players came up. It’s great to hear that, we watch Ravens games and that they’re there watching us and following us and are fans of what we’re doing here.”

Here are the starters for the Red Sox series at Camden Yards:

Thursday: Zach Eflin vs. Nick Pivetta
Friday: Corbin Burnes vs. TBA
Saturday: Albert Suárez vs. Brayan Bello
Sunday: Trevor Rogers vs. Kutter Crawford

For the Nationals

CJ Abrams SS
Juan Yepez DH
James Wood LF
Andrés Chaparro 1B
Luis García Jr. 2B
Keibert Ruiz C
Alex Call RF
Ildemaro Vargas 3B
Jacob Young CF

DH Herz LHP