Yahoo Sports Orioles' Kyle Bradish to begin season on injured list due to right UCL sprain
Bradish finished fourth in 2023 AL Cy Young voting
The Baltimore Orioles will be without starting pitcher Kyle Bradish for the start of the 2024 season, as he will be placed on the injured list due to a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
Orioles general manager Mike Elias said Bradish suffered the injury in January as he began his offseason throwing program. After receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in his pitching elbow, he will start his program again Friday.
No timeline was given for a return to the mound, but the team still expects Bradish to be part of its rotation this season.
“Everything is pointed in the right direction and going well right now at this time," Elias said. "But I’m not at a point where I want to start putting a timeline on when we’re going to see him in major league action. Right now, we’re prepping him for a lot of action in 2024, and we’re getting him ready for that as expeditiously and responsibly as possible, but there’s going to be some time involved.”
The 27-year-old Bradish won 12 games last season and finished with a 2.83 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 30 starts. He finished fourth in voting for the 2023 AL Cy Young Award.
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More injuries for O's
Bradish wasn't the only injury blow as spring training gets underway for the Orioles. Elias said Gunnar Henderson is dealing with an oblique injury that will keep him out of the lineup for 2-3 weeks. The 2023 AL Rookie of the Year is still expected to be ready for Opening Day.
Potentially joining Bradish on the list of Orioles not ready to go come March 28 is John Means. The 30-year-old had a flare-up in his surgically repaired left pitching elbow and is a month behind the rest of the staff.
Means has made only six appearances the past two seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2022. Elias did not rule out Means for Opening Day, but Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said he is not expecting the lefty to be available.
The Orioles bolstered their rotation in the offseason by acquiring Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers on Feb. 2.
Despite the two blows to the pitching staff, Elias said he is not going to rush into making any moves.
“Certainly, this is a demonstration of why you need a lot of starting pitchers,” Elias said. “These kinds of things will happen. We’re very hopeful to get him back and get all of these guys out on the field together at some point in 2024. But some of them have some processes ahead of them, and we’ve got to get through those first before we can talk about game action."
