Former Baltimore Orioles Ace Getting Closer to Re-Joining Team For Playoff Chase

The Baltimore Orioles are already the best team in the American League, and they are set to get stronger.

Former ace John Means is getting closer to a return to the roster and should be part of the team's ability to push for the top overall seed in the American League playoffs.

The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

Means (elbow/back) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Thursday with Double-A Bowie, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

ANALYSIS
Means is nearly 16 months removed from Tommy John surgery and about two-and-a-half months removed from the upper-back strain that derailed him in late May. Now with a fully clean bill of health, the 30-year-old left-hander should become an option for the current AL East leaders around the end of August or beginning of September.

His return will be a great story for Baltimore, but he also should be able to contribute to the team's success.

Through the lean years in Baltimore, Means was the ace of the staff, so getting him back could be a nice boost to either the rotation or the bullpen.

He won 12 games in an All-Star season in 2019, has thrown a no-hitter in his career and has 20 career victories. He owns a lifetime 3.81 ERA.

The Orioles are engaged in a big-time series this week with the Houston Astros. With Houston currently holding a wild card spot in the American League, this could be a playoff preview.

The O's lead the Astros, 6-2, at the time of this posting.

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