Orioles normal supervisor Mike Elias knowledgeable the media right now that each left-hander John Means and right-hander Tyler Wells will endure elbow surgical procedure. Every participant shall be present process ulnar collateral ligament restore, although it’s not identified if both shall be full Tommy John surgical procedure or the inner brace various. In both case, each gamers at the moment are set to overlook the rest of the season. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was amongst these to relay the information on X.
It’s an unlucky double blow to the Baltimore rotation depth. The information on Means is especially heartbreaking as he simply acquired again from a prolonged Tommy John layoff not too way back. He went underneath the knife in April of 2022, lacking nearly all of that season and a lot of the following season as effectively.
He did return to the mound late in 2023 however felt renewed elbow soreness. He was left off the membership’s playoff roster final yr and the O’s then tried to slow-play his ramp-up right here in 2024. He began the season on the injured record and was reinstated at the beginning of Might, making 4 begins earlier than touchdown again on the IL with a left forearm pressure.
Now Means is ready for yet one more lengthy rehabilitation interval, which is able to embody the rest of this season and certain a good chunk of 2025 as effectively. From 2019 to 2021, he was one of many few vibrant spots for the membership throughout its rebuilding section. He tossed 345 1/3 innings in these three years, one among which was shortened by the pandemic, with a 3.73 ERA. However as a result of elbow points, he’s solely thrown 52 1/3 innings over the previous three seasons and that quantity received’t be going up now.
Along with giving Means one other large impediment to beat, this surgical procedure has the possibility to finish his tenure with the Orioles. He’ll cross six years of main league service time by season’s finish and is ready without spending a dime company this coming winter. At the moment, he shall be heading into his age-32 season with an unsure well being outlook after all of the aforementioned elbow work. Maybe he and the Orioles will work out a brand new contract to cowl his rehab interval, if either side have an interest, however he may additionally contemplate getting wholesome once more and earlier than showcasing himself for different golf equipment.
Wells, 29, landed on the injured record in the course of April on account of elbow irritation. It seems that the membership didn’t discover a lot success with no matter non-surgical choices it was exploring over the previous six weeks and finally determined that surgical procedure was certainly essential.
The righty has a 4.06 ERA with the O’s for the reason that begin of 2021, pitching each out of the rotation and out of the bullpen. He reached arbitration in the latest offseason as a Tremendous Two participant and is making $1.9625MM this yr. He could be in line for one more cross by means of arbitration this winter however wouldn’t be capable to get an enormous elevate after lacking the overwhelming majority of the present marketing campaign. It’s additionally doable the O’s resolve to non-tender Wells, given his upcoming rehab, although he’s additionally controllable by means of 2027 and continues to be optionable.
For the membership, this can considerably weaken their rotation depth for the rest of the yr. They at the moment have a beginning combine consisting of Corbin Burnes, Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, Cole Irvin and Albert Suárez, which is a stable group however one with query marks.
Bradish was identified with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in February. He managed to return to the membership and has pitched effectively by means of just a few begins, although that was additionally the case for Means earlier than his elbow points returned. Suárez has a 1.53 ERA this yr however it’s his first MLB season since 2017. Irvin has a 2.84 ERA however with a low strikeout price of 17.6%.
Even with out Means and Wells, reinforcements may very well be coming from inside. Dean Kremer is on the injured record however isn’t anticipated to be out an excessive amount of longer. Prospects Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott are each throwing effectively in Triple-A this yr.
The membership is 35-19 and comfortably in playoff place. Maybe they may use the approaching weeks and months to judge everybody in that group and see how issues look in the course of July, however it additionally appears truthful to count on the O’s to be exploring the commerce marketplace for beginning pitching this summer time.
