New reliever Alex Hoppe became the 53rd player used by the Orioles this season when he appeared in Wednesday night’s game at Camden Yards. Meanwhile, former first-round draft pick Heston Kjerstad remained on the Triple-A Norfolk roster and homered the following day.

Kjerstad is waiting to get back to the majors, where he hasn’t played since June 6, 2025 in Sacramento.

Maybe it was a hint at what awaited Kjerstad that he faced the Athletics in a minor league ballpark.

Kjerstad was batting .274/.314/.440 with 13 doubles, nine homers, 37 RBIs, 14 walks and 67 strikeouts in 62 games before last night. His two-run, game-tying shot in Buffalo measured 402 feet to right field and 104 mph off the bat.

He needed it. Kjerstad had collected 10 hits in a six-game stretch before falling into a 2-for-28 slump.

All signs point to him busting out. Kjerstad had a single, run-scoring double, walk and sacrifice bunt last night and is batting .279 with a .768 OPS.

Hot or cold, he hasn’t received a call through the numerous changes to the roster caused by injuries, the trade deadline and the usual shuttling over the course of a season.

Kjerstad batted .291 with an .852 OPS in 22 games last month despite the frigid finish that carried into the beginning of August. He didn’t begin playing for Norfolk until May 9 due to a right hamstring strain.   

“I’ve been feeling good,” he said this week. “Definitely not the start you want, starting off with an injury and then coming back from it. Had a little bit of a slow start getting it rolling. Was hitting the ball well, not launching it for power too much, and then started to get it rolling.

“Been feeling really good at the plate. The month of July, felt really, really good, finally back to where I want to be as a hitter. Driving the ball to all parts of the field, hitting for power, so finally got to a good spot there.”

The injury was another setback for Kjerstad in a career filled with them, beginning with his myocarditis diagnosis shortly after the Orioles made him the second-overall pick in 2020. He was shut down last summer for undisclosed reasons after the Orioles optioned him again, impressed early in spring training by barreling anything thrown to him, and felt tightness in the hamstring while running out a ground ball on March 19.

“Just frustrating,” he said. “You always want to start the season off healthy, and for me, given my situation and path, I’ve always been limited based on injuries and some health problems. So anytime I miss more time, it sucks. It always eats at me. There’s nothing I want to do besides play, and the more game I miss, it gets frustrating. But thankfully it healed up nice, had a great rehab with the staff and everything, and been staying healthy and feeling great since.”

The Orioles traded Taylor Ward at the deadline, acquired Christian Franklin from the Nationals – also a right-handed hitter – and plugged him into left and center field during the Angels series. Kjerstad bats from the left side, and the Orioles have Colton Cowser and Dylan Beavers on the roster, along with switch-hitter Leody Taveras.

Beavers missed about six weeks with an oblique strain. Catcher Samuel Basallo has been on the injured list since July 22 with right shoulder inflammation, and the Orioles used him on occasion as a left-handed designated hitter.

Weston Wilson, Johnathan Rodríguez, Michael Siani and Jeremiah Jackson also have played in the outfield. Kjerstad wonders when his turn will come.

“Oh, for sure,” he said. “That’s all of us want to do, we all want to be with in the big leagues, and that’s what I’m playing for. Right now I know there’s going to be an opportunity down the road. There’s still two months left in the season, so hopefully I get a chance to come up, and whenever that chance is, I’m in a good spot and ready to go up there and help the team win games and hopefully help them push toward the playoffs.”

Kjerstad, a career .218/.284/.365 hitter in 106 games with the Orioles, can’t let the waiting become a distraction. And he can’t look too far ahead, including how he’s out of minor league options in 2027. He turns 28 in February.

“That’s definitely stuff players think about and everything, but since I’ve kind of been through it the past few years, it’s not my first time waiting to get called up or anything like that, you kind of know how to handle it just off experience,” he said.

“For me, it’s just being where your feet are. I’m excited and stoked to go play baseball every day. Any day that I can be healthy, suit up and go play a game, that gives me opportunity to work on it and go have fun and play to win a game every day, and that’s all I can ask for.”

Rosters expand next month, which could get Kjerstad back to Baltimore if it doesn’t happen sooner. Another door will open. He’ll find out whether he’s invited to walk through it.

Some familiar faces will be gone with Ward, Adley Rutschman, Tyler Wells and Dean Kremer traded. Kjerstad followed the news from a distance.

“The front office is always making moves to make the team better,” he said. “I always keep up with it, just because guys are coming in and out that you know. It’s part of the game. Front offices make moves, and our front office is really good at what they do. They understand what they’re building the team for, and I think we made some great additions to the team and the organization that I think will help us a lot.”

Franklin is a good friend from their days together at the University of Arkansas. They were teammates in 2019 and ’20 before the minors shut down because of the pandemic.

“I was pumped to see him get picked up,” Kjerstad said. “He’s a great player. A great hitter, great right-handed bat, can handle left-handed pitching really well. Does great against right-handed pitching, as well. His big skill set is elite defense. Great center fielder when he was in college. He’s good in left and right, as well. And he can swipe bag. He’s a really good basestealer, always had a knack for that.

“He’s a good all-around player and it was cool to see an old teammate get called up and make his debut. I’ve been texting and keeping up with him, so hope I get to get up there and play with him again.”

Note: Chris Bassitt made his third rehab start last night with Norfolk and it was his best with six scoreless innings and three hits allowed. He threw 83 pitches, 51 for strikes.

Bassitt is expected to be reinstated and get back into the rotation. President of baseball operations Mike Elias said recently that Bassitt wasn’t viewed as a bullpen option.