The Orioles placed left-handed reliever Cionel Pérez on the 15-day injured list with a right oblique strain Sunday.
Pérez left Baltimore’s 13-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday six pitches into his appearance, grabbing his lower back after an awkward delivery and immediately calling for a trainer. The Orioles recalled right-hander Jonathan Heasley from Triple-A Norfolk in a corresponding move.
“I don’t know about a timeline, really, right now,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said of Pérez after the Orioles’ 4-1 loss Sunday. “He’s on the IL, and hope he gets back as soon as he can.”
Pérez, 27, was one of three left-handed pitchers to break camp with the Orioles’ bullpen. He was one of manager Brandon Hyde’s most consistently called-upon relief options in 2023 when he posted a 3.54 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 65 games. With him sidelined, the remaining lefties in the Orioles’ bullpen are setup man Danny Coulombe and middle reliever Keegan Akin.
Rather than recall fellow southpaw Nick Vespi, who was a late addition to the opening day roster for Jacob Webb while he was on the paternity list, the Orioles went with Heasley. A 13th-round draft pick by the Kansas City Royals in 2018, Heasley joined the Orioles on a cash trade this offseason. He had a 7.20 ERA in 12 bullpen appearances last year after failing to stick in the Royals’ rotation.
“I’m not really sure what the role is going to be as of right now,” Hyde said of Heasley. “Hopefully, he can get some outs for us and give the ball to some back-end guys.”
Heasley put up a 4.15 ERA with four strikeouts and two walks in eight appearances this spring. He’ll now have the chance to face his former team when the Orioles host the Royals for a three-game series beginning Monday.
Around the horn
• Orioles left-hander John Means made his first rehab start of the year Sunday with Triple-A Norfolk. He threw 32 pitches, allowing seven runs on six hits and one walk with two strikeouts in an inning-plus of work. The results weren’t pretty, but with Means still weeks away from returning from what the team has labeled a forearm strain, the important takeaways were his pitch count and ability to work into the second inning.
• Two of the Orioles’ final roster cuts will be staying with the organization. Utility player Nick Maton and outfielder Ryan McKenna cleared outright waivers Sunday and the Orioles assigned them to Norfolk. Each player would have to be added to the Orioles’ 40-man roster if the club chooses to recall them to the majors this season.
• That final round of cuts did end up costing the Orioles utility player Tyler Nevin, who was a standout in camp with a team-leading 19 hits during spring training. The Orioles signed second baseman and outfielder Tony Kemp two days before opening day, sending Nevin to waivers, where the Oakland Athletics claimed him Sunday.