Urías put on injured list; Rom is promoted

Infielder strained hamstring; prospect will help aid bullpen

The Orioles shuffled their bullpen and bench ahead of Tuesday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

After suffering a left hamstring strain on a ninth-inning single during Monday’s loss, infielder Ramón Urías was placed on the 10-day injured list. The club also optioned left-hander Keegan Akin and designated catcher Luis Torrens for assignment. To take their places, Baltimore brought back left-handed hitters Ryan O’Hearn and Terrin Vavra and promoted pitching prospect Drew Rom for the first time.

A 23-year-old left-hander who Baseball America ranked as Baltimore’s No. 24 prospect entering this season, Rom was the Orioles’ fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft. He had a 2.87 ERA in six starts for Triple-A Norfolk this year and is coming off striking out 11 over six shutout innings in his most recent outing for the Tides.

Rom said he found out he was getting promoted Monday night when Norfolk manager Buck Britton called him at 10:45 p.m.

“He’s like, ‘Hey, you’ve got a flight tomorrow at like 7:20 [a.m.]. Pack your bags and get ready to go,’ ” Rom recalled from his phone conversation with Britton. “It’s just been a whirlwind of a day and a half, I guess, but I’m trying to take it all in stride at this point and just kind of keep doing what I’ve been doing down in Norfolk and try to bring it up here.”

This season, Rom has been the best starting pitcher for the best team in the minor leagues. Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate has a 24-8 record with a plus-108 run differential, and Rom’s four wins are tied for the most of any starting pitcher in the International League. His 2.87 ERA ranks fifth. Rom, a soft-tossing lefty, posted a 1.25 WHIP and a 24.6% strikeout rate in 31 innings with the Tides.

“I think just throwing everything through the zone and just attacking hitters rather than trying to be too fine with everything,” Rom said about his success in Norfolk. “At this point, I just have to trust my stuff because that’s what’s gotten me here today.”

Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said before Tuesday’s game that Rom would be used out of the bullpen while he’s in Baltimore, noting that he can pitch multiple innings and is replacing a left-hander in Akin, who had a 5.91 ERA in 13 relief appearances for Baltimore.

“He’s been doing his thing in Triple-A,”

Elias said. “He’s been throwing strikes. I think he really only had like one rocky outing. He’s been part of a very quality rotation down there. I think we’re in a spot where all of those guys can come up and help us on a day-to-day basis when we need a pitcher. This was his day to pitch in Triple-A. We thought he would come up and provide us a nice length option and a left-hander out of the bullpen after we optioned Akin last night, so I know he’s probably pretty excited to be here.”

The Orioles made a similar move in late April with left-handed pitching prospect DL Hall when they had an extra roster spot for the doubleheader in Detroit. Hall came up and pitched three innings of relief and was sent down after the twin bill.

“I’m just ready for my opportunity,” Rom said about coming out of the bullpen.

Urías was hitting .278 with a .756 OPS while serving as a regular in the Orioles’ infield, playing third, second and first base. Manager Brandon Hyde said Gunnar Henderson, who has bounced between third base and shortstop this season, will see the vast majority of his time at third base with Urías out.

“He’s gonna be missed,” Hyde said about Urías, a Gold Glove Award winner at third base last season.

Elias said he doesn’t have a “firm grasp” on how long Urías will be on the shelf, but he noted it will be a “good bit of time” because of the nature of hamstring injuries.

Torrens hadn’t appeared for Baltimore after being acquired in a trade with the Chicago Cubs after they had also designated him for assignment. The Orioles did not make a corresponding move on their 40-man roster, meaning it has one opening.

The Orioles added Torrens because they wanted to carry three catchers to have more comfort deploying Adley Rutschman and James McCann in the same lineups. It’s possible Vavra now fills that role in an emergency capacity, with the utility man appearing in two games at the position while with Norfolk after training as a catcher in the offseason. Between Triple-A and the majors, he has also played second base, third base and both corner outfield spots and practiced at first base in the winter. After making Baltimore’s opening day roster, he hit .231 with no extra-base hits in limited playing time before being sent to Norfolk, where he slashed .286/.333/.381.

O’Hearn has thrived in Triple-A with a 1.133 OPS and managed a .634 OPS in a parttime role while with Baltimore.

“To have that third catcher there, we felt like that was viable at the time,” Hyde said. “Now, we feel like we need some versatility on our roster with those two guys we added.”