BALTIMORE — John Means and Tyler Wells will miss the rest of the season because of elbow problems that require surgery, a blow to Baltimore’s pitching depth as the Orioles try to defend their AL East title.
General Manager Mike Elias announced the status of Means and Wells before Friday night’s game against Tampa Bay. Means returned late last season from Tommy John surgery but has made only eight starts since then. Wells made 43 starts over the past two years but only three more in 2024.
The Orioles began the season without starting pitchers Means and Kyle Bradish. Now Bradish is back, but Dean Kremer has missed over a week with a triceps strain — and Means and Wells may not return until after the start of next season.
“I think it’s a strong likelihood,” Elias said. “You get the repair, my understanding is that’s kind of roughly a 11, 12-month kind of thing, front to back, in terms of getting yourself back on TV, so to speak. It can be longer than that.”
Elias said the two players will have their UCLs repaired. He said it’s not clear yet what type of surgery they’ll have, meaning the recovery time frames are a bit uncertain.
“It’s really disappointing,” Manager Brandon Hyde said. “Two guys you really pull for. We were hoping for better news.”
Albert Suarez was set to start Friday, with Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Cole Irvin and Bradish rounding out the rotation for now. Kremer could presumably replace Suarez when he returns, which Elias said might potentially be before the end of June.
“I think usually baseball teams try to go into spring training with eight or nine starting pitching options, and now we’re down a couple,” Elias said.
The Orioles have largely withstood their injuries in the rotation so far. Burnes, acquired in an offseason trade, has looked like an ace. Bradish (1.75) and Irvin (2.84) have both posted impressive ERAs, and Rodriguez has 61 strikeouts in 51 innings. Means was 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA.
Suarez was 2-0 with a 1.53 ERA entering Friday’s start, having split time between the rotation and bullpen.
The problem is now Baltimore has only one scheduled off day in June — and the Orioles face the Rays, Blue Jays, Braves, Phillies, Yankees, Astros, Guardians and Rangers in that month. A six-man rotation might be useful for the Orioles, but it’s hard to say who else they can use as a starter until Kremer gets back.
“I think we’re keeping all options open right now,” Hyde said. “You forecast what you hope the next three weeks is going to look like, but stuff like this happens.”
The Orioles’ farm system has been loaded with top prospects, but most of them are position players. Left-hander Cade Povich was 5-1 with a 2.35 ERA for Class AAA Norfolk entering his start Friday.
“Cade is definitely a guy who’s on the tip of our tongues right now. He’s having a tremendous season in Triple-A,” Elias said. “We’re watching every little thing he does. As we enter this stretch now, with all of these games coming up, with no off days, we’ve had internal dialogue about six-mans for stretches and things like that. He’s put himself in position for that type of consideration.”
DIAMONDBACKS
Gallen heads to IL
NEW YORK — Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday because of a strained right hamstring.
The defending National League champions recalled right-hander Slade Cecconi from Triple-A Reno before the second game of a four-game series against the New York Mets.
Gallen was removed six pitches into Thursday night’s start at Citi Field. He went back to Arizona on Friday to undergo an MRI and get evaluated by team doctors.
The 28-year-old right-hander is 5-4 with a 3.12 ERA in 11 starts. He finished in the top five of NL Cy Young Award voting each of the past two years, including third last season when he went 17-9 with a 3.47 ERA in 210 innings and made his first All-Star team.
Cecconi, 24, was 1-4 with a 6.12 ERA in five starts and one relief appearance for the Diamondbacks earlier this season. He is 1-5 with a 5.31 ERA in 13 major league games (nine starts) — all with Arizona over the past two years.
MARINERS
Seattle fires bench coach
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners fired bench coach and offensive coordinator Brant Brown on Friday less than six months after he was hired for the job.
The club announced Brown’s dismissal amid a season-long offensive slump. The Mariners currently rank 29th in MLB with 3.64 runs per game and are tied for 28th in total runs this season. They lead all of baseball in strikeouts.
Brown spent the 2023 season as the Miami Marlins’ hitting coach and was hired by the Mariners in December to help revamp an offense that underwhelmed at the plate in 2023. Though the Mariners lead the AL West by three games over the Texas Rangers, the team’s bats have so far failed to live up to expectations.
Seattle said in its announcement that Brown had been “relieved of his duties,” while further clarifying that “Director of Hitting Strategy Jarret DeHart and Assistant Hitting Coach Tommy Joseph will continue and expand on their roles with the hitters.”
Brown was the Mariners minor league outfield coordinator from 2012 to 2016 and player development system offensive coordinator in 2017 before spending five years with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
GUARDIANS
Kwan returns to lineup
CLEVELAND — The AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians got one of their key players back Friday when two-time Gold Glove-winning left fielder Steven Kwan was activated from the 10-day injured list.
Kwan had been sidelined since May 5 with a strained left hamstring. The leadoff hitter had an AL-best .353 batting average to go with a .407 on-base percentage through 32 games when he was injured chasing a foul ball during a game against the Los Angeles Angels.
Outfielder Estevan Florial was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Kwan.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Kwanie back,” Guardians Manager Stephen Vogt said before his team opened a three-game series with the Washington Nationals. “He’s worked really hard. It’s a credit to him and the staff and everybody who had a hand in getting him back quickly. You can’t say enough about what he means for us in the leadoff spot.”
The Guardians have thrived without Kwan, though. They were 17-7 while he was on the IL after starting the season 20-12. Cleveland has the second-best record in the AL at 37-19.
Center fielder Tyler Freeman had batted at the top of the Guardians’ order for 16 consecutive games until Friday. He had a .258 average and. 356 on-base percentage during that span.