SARASOTA, Fla. — The Orioles were expected to enter 2024 with two American League Cy Young candidates atop their rotation after trading for Corbin Burnes at the end of the offseason.
But the other half of that dominant duo is injured and will miss the beginning of the season.
Right-hander Kyle Bradish has an elbow injury and will begin the season on the injured list, executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said Thursday as the Orioles began their first spring training workout.
Bradish, who finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting after his breakout 2023 season, sprained the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow — the ligament that requires Tommy John elbow reconstruction if torn — when he was ramping up for spring training in January. Bradish then received platelet-rich plasma injections in his elbow, which in some cases have helped pitchers return from UCL injuries.
While not having the 27-year-old early in the season isn’t ideal, Elias said the recovery for Bradish, who will begin a throwing program Friday, is “pointing in the right direction” and that “the hope and focus is to get him back in 2024.”
“Pitching is a dangerous business nowadays,” Elias said. “You never like to hear anybody have elbow or shoulder or wrist injuries or what have you. There are a lot of people who have [PRP injections] and never get surgery, and rest and other treatments do the trick. So, hopefully, that’s where we’re at with this one.”
Bradish isn’t the only starting pitcher who is expected to miss the beginning of the season because of his elbow. Veteran left-hander John Means, who missed last year’s AL Division Series with an elbow flare-up after returning from Tommy John, began his offseason throwing routine a month later to recover. Elias said he is a month behind the club’s other healthy starters, and while he wouldn’t rule him out for the opening day roster, the Orioles’ top executive suggested it was unlikely.
“He’s in a good spot,” Elias said of Means, who underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2022. “It’s just about a guy that had a lot going on with his elbow last year. Getting that totally in the rearview mirror before we clear him to go.”
The absences of Means and Bradish means Tyler Wells and Cole Irvin, starting pitchers who appeared on the outside looking in of Baltimore’s rotation after the Burnes addition, seem poised to have spots in the Orioles’ rotation.
“Wells and Irvin were going to be a big part of this team no matter what,” Elias said. “If it ends up that we’re starting with Kyle and Means or others not in the rotation at the beginning of the year, it puts [Wells and Irvin] squarely in that group.”
However, manager Brandon Hyde said the last few rotation spots will be a competition with the other starters at camp. In addition to Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer are seemingly locks for the five-man rotation should they remain healthy. Other starters in camp include Bruce Zimmermann, Jonathan Heasley, and prospects Seth Johnson, Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott.
“There’s a lot of depth to this club and this organization,” Rodriguez said. “I think something that’s really helped us over the last few years is being able to develop pitchers — homegrown talent in the minor leagues. I think we’re definitely going to have a lot of guys that can fill some roles in the rotation.”
While the Orioles do have depth, there are several starters still on the free-agent market, including left-handers Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and Hyun-jin Ryu. Elias said he is “still looking for pitching” but he maintained his confidence in the organization’s other options, especially since the expectation is Bradish and Means pitch for much of 2024.
This story will be updated.