Soto joining Orioles as Westburg's replacement

Liván Soto finally is going to play for the Orioles in his third stint in the organization.

The circumstances, however, are crushing.

Soto will be recalled from Triple-A Norfolk for Thursday night’s series opener in Cleveland as the injury replacement for Jordan Westburg, according to an industry source.

Westburg was hit on the right-hand today by a 95.2 mph fastball from Blue Jays reliever Yerry Rodríguez in the fifth inning. X-rays revealed a fracture.

Westburg circled the bases on Jackson Holliday’s first major league home run, a grand slam onto Eutaw Street in the Orioles’ 10-4 win. Ramón Urías replaced him at third base.

Manager Brandon Hyde told the media that he’s hoping Westburg can return before the end of the regular season.

“All-Star player,” Hyde said. “Injuries are a part of the game. We have to pick up the pieces for him. We’ve got to play well.

“He’s a huge part of our lineup, our culture, really everything. He’s right in the middle of everything. We have to have other guys kind of step up in his place and fill the void.”

That’s a tall order. Westburg was expected to settle into a regular role at third base with Holliday getting most of the starts at second. Westburg is batting .269 with 25 doubles, five triples, 18 home runs, 59 RBIs and an .814 OPS in 101 games. He provides some of the best at-bats on the team, able to spray the ball to all fields and hit for power.

The rotation already lost Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells and John Means to elbow surgeries. High-leverage left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe is gone until September after having bone chips removed from his elbow. Middle infielder Jorge Mateo is on the 60-day injured list with a dislocated left elbow.

James McCann caught today after Toronto’s Rodríguez nailed him in the face with the fastball Monday afternoon. McCann suffered multiple nasal fractures but kept playing and didn’t go on the injured list.

Westburg has no choice.

“We’ve had our share of guys getting hit,” Hyde told the media. “He’s not trying to hit him there. Trying to run a ball in, or a two-seamer, and it gets away from him. Not trying to load the bases there with Jackson next.

“It’s unfortunate and we’re not the only team that’s getting hit. People are getting hit around the league. Lack of command is pretty apparent with pitchers right now.”

The timing of the Soto trade proved fortunate.

The Orioles acquired Soto and outfielder Austin Slater from the Reds yesterday for cash considerations. Slater hasn’t reported, and Soto was optioned.

Soto, 24, went 0-for-3 in his only start with the Reds on June 26. The Orioles claimed him on Feb. 8 and he was in camp until being designated him for assignment eight days later. They claimed him again April 11 and the Reds put in a claim on the 19^th.

Soto went 22-for-55 (.400) in 18 games with the Angels in 2022. He can play second base, shortstop and third base.

Urías also can fill in for Westburg at second and third.

Meanwhile, Coby Mayo, the No. 15 prospect in baseball in MLB Pipeline’s rankings, remains with Norfolk. He’s a corner infield who again must wait his turn.

“Coby Mayo is in the mix, and that’s another pathway we could have gone down,” executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said this morning while explaining Holliday’s recall.

“I think for us here, it was mainly the left-handedness and the readiness that Jackson has at second base. And there’s still avenues for Coby Mayo here in the near future. But the trade deadline’s our last opportunity to bring in players from other teams basically, and there will be waiver claims later. But other than that, this is it. So this is our chance to bring a couple of right-handed bats into the mix so that we have some different options to explore between Coby Mayo, Austin Slater, Eloy Jiménez and the guys who were already here.”