Key rotation cog closer to big-league return
Left-hander Means to begin his rehab at Triple-A Norfolk
The first John Means Day of the year is today, but it will come in Triple-A Norfolk as the veteran lefthander begins his minor league rehabilitation assignment.
The Norfolk Tides announced that Means will take the ball today against the Durham Bulls, the Tampa Bay Rays’ affiliate. The start will be the first time Means, the Orioles’ No. 1 starter during the rebuild, will pitch in a game since September, and it will start his clock to potentially make his return to Baltimore.
Minor league rehabilitation assignments cannot extend past 30 days unless the player is reinjured. If the assignment takes the full 30 days and Means remains healthy, he would be back with the Orioles on April 30.
Manager Brandon Hyde said before Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels that Means will pitch a couple innings and it is the beginning of his “build up process.” Hyde
said the length of Means’ assignment will be “close to 30 days.”
A late April return falls in line with the original plan for Means after he began his offseason throwing progression a month late to fully recover from his elbow flare-up before the American League Division Series. The Orioles entered spring training hoping he could return in April. Means
didn’t appear in a Grapefruit League game during spring training.
Means was an All-Star in 2019 and was equally as good in 2021 with a 3.62 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 146 innings for the 110-loss Orioles. He was the club’s opening day starter in 2022 but tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and underwent Tommy John elbow reconstruction
in late April 2022. His recovery took about 18 months — the longerend of the typical timeline — and the 30-year-old returned in September. He was instantly one of the Orioles’ best starting pitchers, posting a 2.66 ERA in four starts and taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Cleveland Guardians.
It’s unclear how the rotation will sort out upon his return, although the likeliest scenario, assuming everyone remains healthy, is that left-hander Cole Irvin would be moved to the bullpen.
Around the horn
Right-handers Kyle Bradish and Félix Bautista packed their bags in the clubhouse Saturday to head to the team’s facility in Sarasota, Florida, to continue their recoveries. Bradish (UCL sprain) is expected back “early in the first half of the season,” general manager Mike Elias said at the end of spring training, while Bautista (Tommy John reconstruction) will miss the entire 2024 season after tearing his UCL in August.
Right-hander Jacob Webb was reinstated from the paternity list Saturday after the reliever missed opening day for the birth of his daughter. Left-hander Nick Vespi, who experienced his first MLB opening day in Webb’s stead, was optioned to Triple-A, although the option will not count as one of the five times Vespi can be optioned in 2024. Webb’s daughter, Hudson, was born Wednesday night in Marietta, Georgia, at 6 pounds, 15 ounces and 19 inches tall. Webb couldn’t get a flight home until Thursday morning, but “it was awesome to just be able to hold her,” he said. Will she be a righty or a lefty? “She was swinging her left hand quite a bit, so hopefully left-handed,” he said with a chuckle.
The Orioles on Friday placed 11 minor league players on the 60-day injured list: Double-A Bowie right-handers Tyler Burch and Peter Van Loon; High-A Aberdeen righthanders Cooper Chandler and Daniel Lloyd and IronBirds infielder Luis Valdez; Low-A Delmarva infielder Maikol Hernández and right-hander Pablo Falconett; Florida Complex League right-hander Pedro Figueroa; and Dominican Summer League righthanders Anthony Morillo and Yonatan Pineda and outfielder Raylin Ramos. The domestic players on the 60-day IL do not count against the Orioles’ total number of minor leaguers, which cannot exceed 165 — down across MLB from 180 last year.