Baltimore Orioles Place Starting Pitcher Kyle Bradish on Injured List With UCL Sprain

The Baltimore Orioles have placed starting pitcher Kyle Bradish on the 15-day injured list with a right UCL sprain, the team announced Saturday afternoon.

Bradish tossed 5.0 innings and allowed two earned runs against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. He left early with elbow discomfort, however, and he is set to undergo additional testing to determine next steps.

This isn't the first UCL injury for Bradish this year, either. The righty didn't make his regular season debut until May 2 thanks to the UCL sprain he suffered in February.

It remains to be seen how much time Bradish misses this time around.

Left-handed pitcher Nick Vespi has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to take Bradish's spot on the Orioles' active 26-man roster.

We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/z2s64Yibx1
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) June 15, 2024

Bradish is 2-0 with a 2.75 ERA, 1.068 WHIP, 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.9 WAR so far this season. The 27-year-old may have only posted two quality starts, but he allowed more than two earned runs in just one of his eight appearances.

The Orioles are 6-2 when Bradish takes the mound this year and 39-22 in his 61 career starts.

Bradish made his MLB debut in 2022, at which point he was the No. 10 prospect in Baltimore's farm system. In 2023, he went 12-7 with a 2.83 ERA, 1.043 WHIP, 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings and a 4.9 WAR. That earned Bradish fourth place in the AL Cy Young race, even though he came up short of an All-Star appearance.

Even if Bradish misses the minimum two weeks, his absence will still deliver quite the blow to an Orioles pitching staff that is already shorthanded.

Starting pitchers John Means and Tyler Wells both underwent season-ending UCL surgeries in May, following in the footsteps of All-Star closer Félix Bautista. Starting pitcher Dean Kremer has been on the injured list with a tricep strain since May 20, while veteran reliever Danny Coulombe just got shelved on Tuesday.

At 45-24, the Orioles have remained in contention for a second consecutive AL East crown despite all the injuries. Former Cy Young Corbin Burnes, former top prospect Grayson Rodriguez and rookie Cade Povich can hardly be expected to prop up the rotation all on their own, though, so Baltimore could very well be in the market for additional arms moving forward.

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