Even before the Baltimore Orioles took the field against the New York Yankees for the second game of their three-game series Wednesday, their chances of repeating as American League East champions were dealt a setback.
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Kyle Bradish, the 27-year-old right-hander whose 2.83 ERA last year led the Orioles’ surprising starting rotation, underwent season-ending elbow surgery. General manager Mike Elias made the announcement to reporters Wednesday.
“This is a huge blow,” Elias said, not sugarcoating anything.
#Orioles GM Mike Elias: “Kyle, enormous talent, enormous part of the team. This is a huge blow. This guy is really a tough hombre. … He gave us everything he had, and we’re going to miss him.” https://t.co/Zd6pKgjrxs
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) June 19, 2024
Bradish was 2-0 with a 2.75 ERA in eight starts this season. The Orioles entered Wednesday’s game 47-25, 2.5 games behind the Yankees on the heels of Tuesday night’s loss in the Bronx.
Elias said that Bradish had Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery with an internal brace. The right-hander left his most recent start Friday after five innings and was diagnosed with a right UCL sprain the next day.
G Fiume/Getty Images
Bradish began the 2024 season on the injured list with a UCL injury but opted for rest, rehab, and a platelet-rich plasma injection in lieu of surgery. That merely kicked the can down the road.
For now, the Orioles will roll with a starting rotation of Corbin Burnes, Cole Irvin, Grayson Rodriguez, Cade Povich, and Albert Suarez. The unit has combined for a 3.03 ERA through Tuesday, third in baseball and second in the American League to the Yankees.
Without Bradish, however, the need for the Orioles to acquire a starting pitcher between now and the July 30 trade deadline would only appear to increase. Elias was asked about this Wednesday by reporters in New York.
#Orioles GM Mike Elias was asked if the pitching injuries give him a heightened sense of urgency to add reinforcements ahead of the July 30 Trade Deadline.
His full answer: pic.twitter.com/5knr4E4XoE
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) June 19, 2024
“I’ve got a sense of urgency to win baseball games, and part of that is just taking care of the whole organization,” Elias said. “The Deadline is the Deadline, even before we have injuries. I think it would have been pretty naive to think that the injury number would be zero, especially with some of these guys coming into camp banged up. So this isn’t coming out of left field because of that.
“We’re looking at the whole picture when it comes to this Trade Deadline — where our team’s at, what our health looks like, where we can upgrade, what the market looks like, which teams are selling, what are they asking for. It’s so complicated. It’s just kind of hard for me to make sweeping statements and opine about it, especially in June. But we have, what I think, is a really good, hard-working front office, and we’re going to do our job.”
Unfortunately Bradish’s injury isn’t the only one the Orioles’ pitching staff must contend with. Reliever Danny Coulombe had bone chips removed from his left elbow on Monday, though the team thinks he can return in September, Elias said.
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