The Baltimore Orioles are getting prepared for their biggest series of the young season, facing the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium. However, they are battling injuries on the pitching side of things. While injuries have piled up, they are not finished happening as one star pitcher has been placed on the Injured List. Let’s take a closer look at who it is and what it means going forward for the team.
Ryan Helsley is placed on the Injured List by the Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles announced on Friday, ahead of their game, that closer Ryan Helsley has been placed on the 15-day Injured List with right elbow inflammation. The injury has been retroactive to April 29, meaning the Orioles can potentially have him back a few days earlier. This came seemingly out of nowhere, as there has been no indication of any injury for Helsley.
He last pitched on Tuesday, where he recorded a save in a clean inning against the Houston Astros. There was no dip in his fastball velocity, sitting at 99.3 MPH. The corresponding move sees the team select Albert Suarez to replace him on the 26-man roster. Helsley is now the fifth reliever and eighth pitcher to currently be on the Injured List for the Baltimore Orioles, with the other seven being listed below:
- Zach Eflin
- Dean Kremer
- Trevor Rogers
- Felix Bautista
- Dietrich Enns
- Yaramil Hiraldo
- Colin Selby
With the team currently sitting at 15-16 this season and third in the American League East, there is some pressure for the O’s to show up. Again, it is early in the season, so there is a lot of time to make things up and get the pitching staff healthy.
The Orioles are going to need to figure out how to keep the pitching staff as a whole healthy, as they are going to be trying to piece together outs late in the game. It will be intriguing to see how long it takes for Helsley to return to the mound.
