BALTIMORE — It was a shocker on day one of Orioles spring training. One of the Birds’ best pitchers, Kyle Bradish, has injury to his throwing elbow.
Orioles general manager Mike Elias revealed the 27-year-old has a sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament.
Elias said Bradish noticed elbow irritation last month. Further testing revealed the UCL sprain. It was treated with a platelet-rich plasma injection to promote healing. Bradish will start his throwing progression on Friday and start the season on the injured list.
"That progression is going to be something that takes some time," said Elias before the first pitchers and catchers workout in Sarasota, Fla. "Right now our hopes and focuses are on getting this behind him and getting him up and running for 2024. But, we want to do it carefully and safely."
Bradish finished fourth in the 2023 American League Cy Young voting as the league’s top pitcher. Elias said Tommy John surgery is not yet on the table for Bradish.
"We are prepping him for a lot of action in 2024," Elias said.
Bradish would have entered the spring as the O’s’ No. 1 starter if not for the acquisition of ace Corbin Burnes from Milwaukee. Elias said the injury to Bradish did not impact the club’s desire to trade for Burnes. If anything it reinforces why you need quality depth on the mound.
"This is a demonstration of why you need a lot of starting pitchers. These kind of things will happen."
"Injuries are a part of this game and I feel good about the depth that we have and hopefully he’ll be back soon," said manager Brandon Hyde.
That depth is about to be tested. Along with the Bradish news, John Means is not fully on schedule. He is about a month behind the other starters. The lefty, who had Tommy John surgery in 2022, had an elbow flare-up late in 2023. Elias said Means might miss opening day as well. Also, Gunnar Henderson aggravated his oblique, which is not considered serious.
The team is gathering for the first time since the Angelos family agreed to sell their control stake in the club to David Rubenstein. Elias said everyone in Sarasota is following the situation and as of now there is no impact to how things get done on and off the diamond.
"Everything that I’m hearing and seeing, it’s all very positive. But right now, with the time of year that we are in and the fact that the team is in go-for-it it mode, we are focused on that."
Their focus will remain on pitchers and catchers for the next few days. All position players are due to report to spring training on Monday. The first full-squad workout is set for Tuesday.
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