Baltimore Orioles Injured Outfielder Takes Important Steps in Recovery Effort

More outfield options could be available to the Baltimore Orioles after some important rehab steps were hit for their injured starter.

Feb 24, 2024; Sarasota, Florida, USA;Baltimore Orioles left fielder Austin Hays (21) | Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

Coming out of their dominant series victory against their division rivals, the Baltimore Orioles have to be feeling good about themselves after getting off to a great start that backs up what they did in 2023.

There were detractors out there who thought this young squad wouldn't be able to build upon last year's performance, but they have quieted many of those critics with a 20-11 record through the early portion of the season.

All that has also come with injuries to a few of their expected contributors.

The Orioles are hoping their starting rotation is able to be healthy at once now that they got Kyle Bradish and John Means back from the injured list, but that will have to wait a couple weeks after Grayson Rodriguez was placed on the IL.

Another player Baltimore is missing from their starting lineup is Austin Hays.

The 28-year-old has been out since April 21 with a left calf strain after hurting it in a game against the Kansas City Royals.

Manager Brandon Hyde was hopeful the left fielder would return when eligible to come off the injured list, and his latest rehab efforts make it seem like he could be getting closer to making that a reality.

Hays ran the bases for the first time since the calf strain, doing sprints from third base to home plate. He then took some swings on the field after his baserunning action.

"Everything's been going good. I've been up to 90 percent of my game speed, so getting really close. Just got to check a couple more boxes, but everything we've done so far, there have been no setbacks, nothing negative. I think we're getting really close," he told Roch Kubatko of MASN.

What the Orioles decide to do in their oufield when he returns will be seen.

Right now, Colton Cowser has completely taken over since being moved into a full-time role and it doesn't seem like that will be changing anytime soon.

They also decided to call up top prospect Heston Kjerstad, but his role has been limited and his production has been low during his rare appearances.

It's likely that they'll send him back down to Triple-A and move Hays into the mix, but based on the veteran's slash line of .111/.200/.111 with no extra-base hits and just two RBI before getting hurt, there are more questions about how he might be used than the coaching staff imagined entering the season.