In January, Kyle Bradish’s elbow didn’t feel right and he alerted the Orioles.
Imaging showed he suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament — putting his availability for the 2024 season in doubt. Bradish and the Orioles elected to have the right-hander undergo platelet-rich plasma injections to aid the recovery, but he was still certain to miss the beginning of the season and likely more given the severity of UCL injuries.
Less than a month after Bradish injured his elbow, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias swung one of the biggest trades in Baltimore baseball history when he acquired ace Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers.
Only Elias knows whether Bradish’s injury was the determining factor his acquisition of Burnes, but it certainly wasn’t just a coincidence.
Bradish returned in May but reinjured his elbow in June and missed the remainder of the season. Burnes, meanwhile, kept the Orioles’ rotation afloat, logging 194 1/3 innings and finishing fifth in American League Cy Young Award voting.
Had Elias not acquired Burnes after learning of Bradish’s injury, it’s possible the Orioles’ disappointing season that ended with a first-round playoff exit would have been a disastrous one in which they missed the postseason entirely.
Could Elias make a similar move this offseason? That remains to be seen, but here are the Orioles’ injured players — and their timelines for return in 2025 — who could impact Elias’ decision-making this winter.
Grayson Rodriguez
Rodriguez’s absence the final two months of the season was a significant blow to an Orioles team that had already lost several starting pitchers to injury.
The ailment — a strained teres major/lat muscle — is one that Rodriguez previously dealt with as a minor leaguer in 2022. It creeped up again in August, and while he caught it early, it still ended his season as the club decided in late September to shut him down.
The injury wasn’t expected to impact Rodriguez’s readiness for spring training, and Elias said earlier this month it won’t.
“Grayson … will be, assuming smooth sailing from here, a full-blown member and citizen in spring training,” Elias said. “We’re hopeful for a normal spring training, a healthy, full season from him. That was a muscle strain and it’s finally dissipated.
Colton Cowser
Cowser’s breakout 2024 campaign didn’t just end in a thud with the Orioles being swept out of the postseason. It ended with him in a cast.
The rookie’s left hand was fractured during the club’s season-ending loss to the Kansas City Royals. A few weeks later, he underwent surgery to repair the injury, and the team said he will be ready for spring training.
“Colton Cowser’s hand surgery went really well,” Elias said. “He’s going to be in great shape, and the rehab’s continuing to truck along well.”
Félix Bautista
If the season was a month or two longer, it’s possible Bautista would have returned in 2024. But the 6-foot-8 closer and the club set their sights on spring 2025 as Bautista’s full return to action rather than rush him back.
Bautista, who underwent Tommy John surgery in October 2023, is expected to be ready for the start of spring training, but recovering from that procedure is no easy task. While the most difficult hurdles are behind him and Elias said his “rehab continues to go to plan,” Bautista still has more to clear to be the dominant closer he was before the injury.
For that reason, Elias said the Orioles aren’t declaring Bautista as their Day 1 closer in case he needs more time to ramp up in lower leverage opportunities.
“I think he’s going to be a major contributor in the back end of the bullpen all season long. We’re excited about that,” Elias said. “We are realistic about the fact that he’s coming off surgery. We don’t want to overly pressurize him. We are going to want to treat him with a little extra care given the fact that he didn’t pitch last year and he’s coming off of a surgery.”
Jorge Mateo
Mateo’s injury was far from the most consequential the Orioles dealt with in 2024.
Bautista was an All-Star in 2023. Bradish finished fourth in Cy Young voting. Danny Coulombe was one of the AL’s best left-handed relievers. Jordan Westburg was in the middle of a breakout season.
Still, Mateo’s absence is one Elias believes was “underrated” as the Orioles struggled with the infielder on the shelf. His offensive numbers will never impress, but his combination of defensive versatility and speed is one manager Brandon Hyde and the club covet.
Mateo dislocated his left elbow while playing defense in July and underwent UCL surgery in August. It’s unclear when he could be 100%, but Elias said he expects Mateo to be ready near the beginning of the regular season at the latest.
“Whether he’s 100% full-go on the very first day of spring training is still TBD, but suffice to say, he’s going to have a very full, if not 162-game, something close to that, season,” Elias said. “So he’s really somebody that we’re able to plan around fully more or less in 2025, and that hasn’t changed.”
Tyler Wells
Wells underwent the second UCL surgery of his career in June, but the procedure he received could allow him to return sooner than most Tommy John recipients.
The 6-foot-8 right-hander opted for the internal brace procedure, an alternative that is gaining popularity among MLB pitchers because of the potential for a shorter recovery time. The average recovery from Tommy John surgery is approximately 14-to-16 months, while it’s about 10-12 months for the procedure Wells underwent.
The internal brace procedure repairs the UCL and then reinforces it with a tape-like suture instead of fixing it through a full reconstruction like Tommy John, which replaces the existing ligament with a graft usually taken from the pitcher’s hamstring tendon. Pitchers with fully torn UCLs aren’t logical candidates to receive the internal brace procedure, but those whose ligaments are only partially torn are increasingly opting for the new procedure.
Still, the recovery is challenging, and one setback could delay Wells’ return — whether that comes as a reliever or a starter. The Orioles haven’t said when they expect Wells back, but a return between mid-April and mid-June could be within range if his recovery is similar to other pitchers who have received the internal brace procedure.
Kyle Bradish
Bradish underwent his first Tommy John surgery in June, and if his recovery remains on track, he could serve as an elite trade deadline addition — one the Orioles wouldn’t have to give up anything to get.
As the Orioles experienced with John Means, there’s little predictability as it pertains to Tommy John surgery. Means missed 16 months after his first procedure in 2022 and only started eight games before his next in 2024.
However, outcomes after the surgery vary, and some pitchers are back to normal on the shorter end of the 12-to-18 month timeframe. Elias said it was “too early for me to specify a month” for Bradish’s return.
The typical timeframe puts Bradish’s optimistic return sometime between July and August. If he suffers a small setback or his rehabilitation is on the slower end, it could be delayed until September or October. And, as is always the case when dealing with Tommy John recipients, it’s also within the range of outcomes that Bradish is unable to pitch in 2025.
“Knock on wood, the rehabs are on schedule or better right now,” Elias said of Wells and Bradish. “[We] continue to bank on some kind of midseason return for both of those guys.”
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at [email protected], 667-942-3337 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
