The Yankees’ biggest American League East rival took a massive blow on Tuesday.
The Orioles’ Kyle Bradish underwent Tommy John Surgery, taking him out for the rest of this season and part of 2025, further depleting an injury-riddled Baltimore starting rotation.
Bradish, who missed the first month of the season because of a right elbow injury, had been excellent for the Orioles this season, posting a 2.75 ERA over eight starts.
The 27-year-old right-hander had a breakout season in 2023, putting up a 2.83 ERA with 168 strikeouts over 30 starts and finished fourth in the AL Cy Young voting.
Bradish served as the de facto ace for the Orioles last season when Baltimore had its best season in more than 40 years, winning 101 games.
He was expected to be a big part of an improved Orioles rotation this season, but injuries have kept the team’s starting unit from fully taking stride.
Bradish is the third Baltimore starting pitcher to have season-ending Tommy John surgery, joining Tyler Wells and John Means.
The O’s All-Star closer, Felix Bautista, also had the surgery before the season.
Grayson Rodriguez missed nearly three weeks in May with right shoulder inflammation and the team is currently without right-hander Dean Kremer, who is out with a triceps strain.
Despite the injuries, the Orioles are still 47-25, the second-best record in the AL and just 2.5 games behind the Yankees heading into Wednesday’s play, the second game of a three-game series in the Bronx.
Last week, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that the Orioles were in the market for bullpen help and potentially a right-handed bat in the outfield, although they were waiting to decide on rotation additions.
With Bradish officially lost for the year, it’s safe to assume the Orioles are more likely than they were a week ago to make rotation improvements.
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