Important Baltimore Orioles Reliever Dealing With Knee Inflammation

One of the winter signings the Baltimore Orioles made this offseason is dealing with knee inflammation.

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Andrew Kittredge (39) throws a pitch at Ed Smith Stadium. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles have made a few solid additions this winter, such as Tyler O'Neill, Tomoyuki Sugano, Charlie Morton, Gary Sánchez and others.

One of the more overlooked signings was been reliever Andrew Kittredge, who is coming off one of his best seasons since his 2021 All-Star nod.

Unfortunately, he is dealing with an injury, which has held him out of all but one spring training appearance so far.

A report from Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun states that Kittredge is dealing with knee inflammation. He and the team are waiting for the swelling to go down before determining a timeline for his potential return. Kittredge also stated he has not pitched since the injury occurred.

This is a difficult place to be in for the Orioles.

Kittredge was supposed to be a high-quality arm in their bullpen this year, but if this injury does not clear up soon, he may end up missing part of the regular season.

Considering he has not had any time on the mound since the inflammation occurred, it is safe to say he might not be ready for Opening Day.

As previously mentioned, Kittredge is coming off a strong showing in 2024 with 70.2 innings pitched, an ERA of 2.80, a 1.132 WHIP and 67 strikeouts to 20 walks.

It will be interesting to see how this injury recovery timeline develops in the coming days, and whether or not the team can get a key piece back early for the start of the season since he was supposed to be a key figure coming out of the bullpen for Baltimore this year.