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ATLANTA – The Orioles’ catching situation didn’t seem like it could go from bad to worse.
Famous last words.
On June 21, Adley Rutschman hit the injured list with a left oblique strain, with an expected return after the All-Star break. Just two days later, Maverick Handley collided with Jazz Chisholm and went on the concussion injured list. He has yet to resume baseball activities. Same with Chadwick Tromp, who hit the IL on July 1 with lower back tightness.
Now, it’s Gary Sánchez who heads to the IL, with a moderate right PCL strain. There’s no timeline for his return just yet.
Sánchez had previously missed a significant amount of time with a wrist injury before returning on June 14. Since then, though, his offensive production has been a huge boost in the absence of Rutschman.
In his 17 games played in that stretch, Sánchez hit .295 and slugged five home runs, boasting an impressive .922 OPS. The vacancy will be felt both behind the dish and in the batter’s box.
It leaves the Orioles in a precarious situation. Alex Jackson, acquired today from the New York Yankees, and Jacob Stallings are the two catchers on the big league roster. They’ve each been acquired within the last 12 days.
“It’s drinking out of a fire hose,” Tony Mansolino said today. “I quickly directed him (Jackson) to Ryan Klimek, Drew French, Grant Anders, Mitch Plassmeyer. Go get ‘em. Here’s the fire hose, start drinking, figuring this thing out.
"It doesn’t happen in one day. It’s something that they build upon day after day. Those guys have done such an incredible job with it over the last month.”
Stallings was called upon in the middle of last night’s game and delivered a two-RBI double in the 10th inning. He’s been around the game a long time, with six years with the Pirates and a pair each with the Marlins and Rockies. The veteran was a Gold Glove winner in 2021, and posted an .810 OPS in 82 games with the Rockies last year.
“If you’re going to bring in somebody that has the ability to quickly catch up, it’s a guy like Jacob,” Mansolino said.
Jackson, on the other hand, only has 124 career big league games under his belt. The backstop was the sixth overall pick by the Mariners in the 2014 draft, and has bounced around with the Braves, Marlins, Brewers and Rays. When the Orioles acquired him this morning, he had a .772 OPS for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate.
“Was in Tampa last year, a very forward-thinking organization,” Mansolino said. “And in New York this year, a very forward-thinking organization. I saw him in 2019 in Triple-A with the Braves, a very forward-thinking organization in a lot of ways. It’s guys that have the capacity to quickly catch up and make themselves assets at that position for a major league team.”
Another catching acquisition paints a clear picture of the O’s plan for Samuel Basallo: the talent is evident, but no number of injuries will deter Baltimore from their long-term development plan. He’s not the type of prospect that you call up purely out of necessity. Basallo’s time will come, but injuries won’t rush him along.
Just two weeks ago, neither Stallings nor Jackson were in the organization. Now, the duo is tasked with keeping the O’s catching position afloat.
Survive and advance.
Breadcrumbs from the skipper
Seranthony Domínguez has been unavailable for the last few days after “sleeping funny,” here in Atlanta. It’s possible that he is available out of the bullpen today, according to Mansolino.
Jesse Chavez is back with the Braves, about the 18th time he’s been activated by the organization. “I think when he was pitching in the big leagues in Pittsburgh, I think I was a really not very good minor league player in that organization,” Mansolino joked.
