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Orioles pitcher Kyle Bradish is halfway through his bullpen progression and fully expecting to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list by August.
Bradish threw a 35-pitch side session on Monday, used everything in his arsenal and reported that he’s “feeling really good.”
The Orioles want Bradish to begin throwing live batting practice at the beginning of July, followed by an injury rehab assignment in the minors. He hasn’t pitched for them since undergoing ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow in June 2024.
Bradish made eight starts last season after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in his elbow in January, posting a 2.75 ERA and 1.068 WHIP in 39 1/3 innings. He shut out the Rays on one hit over six innings in his penultimate start and allowed two runs in five innings against the Phillies before the Orioles shut him down.
Standing at his locker this afternoon, Bradish explained why he’s confident in his chances of getting back into the rotation after the break.
“Everything’s been feeling really good,” he said. "My arm and body’s responding to everything really good. I haven’t had any setbacks so far. So yeah, really encouraged with how this rehab process is going.”
Bradish also said his stuff “feels great.” He threw breaking balls for the first time on Monday.
“All the shapes were good, felt good coming out of the hand,” he said. "No issues there. So everything’s feeling good.”
The only downer is how the Orioles have played. Bradish can’t do anything except offer encouragement when they’re in Baltimore.
“It’s been tough just knowing you can’t do anything about it,” he said. “It’s baseball. It’s obviously not the start we wanted, but I think we’ve been playing good ball lately. So hopefully come summer we’re closer back to .500 and keep going from there.
“It’s great being up here with the guys at home, being able to feel like you’re part of the team in the dugout, cheer the guys on. It’s nice not being away in Florida.”
* Catcher Gary Sánchez has his right wrist wrapped and remains on the injured list, but he’s performing all baseball activities. He was cleared to take batting practice.
“I’m feeling better,” he said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “It’s part of our progression and the plan that the trainers have for me. So thankfully, my body is feeling well and responding well and feeling good.”
The Orioles listed the injury as wrist inflammation, and his placement on the IL was backdated to April 28.
“In 2023 when I was with San Diego, I got hit by a ball on my hand, same hand, but kind of got me on a different spot on the bone, whereas this year the injury was affecting me in a different spot,” he said.
“It was really affecting me when I was trying to swing and I tried to play through it, but ultimately I wasn’t doing a good job and able to help the team, trying to play through it, and that’s why we kind of shut it down, hoping that with rest and with treatment it would get better. Hoping with this rest and the program that I’ve been in, I’ll be able to feel a lot better, do a lot better, and put myself in position to help this team.”
The Orioles will send Sánchez on an injury rehab assignment before reinstating him. He’s eager to contribute after signing for $8.5 million as a free agent and going 3-for-30.
“I think it affects me more than any other player,” he said. “I really like being on the field. I like winning. So seeing the way that the team started, we haven’t been consistent. It really upsets me. I really want to be out there being able to help the team and doing what I can to help this team win and doing what we’re capable of doing.”
* Adley Rutschman has returned to the lineup tonight, serving as designated hitter against Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas. He took a hard foul ball off his mask Sunday in Boston but avoided the seven-day concussion injured list.
“It’s a big sigh of relief,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “You guys understand kind of what he was going through a little bit. You can connect the dots on it. The fact that our medical team, they got to this point, they feel very strongly about putting him in there tonight as the DH.”
The Orioles will carry three catchers “at the moment,” Mansolino said.
* Grayson Rodriguez threw on flat ground yesterday but Mansolino said the timeline hasn't moved from where it was initially. Rodriguez hasn’t pitched in 2025 due to elbow/triceps/lat injuries. And outfielder Tyler O'Neill hit in the cage earlier today while recovering from a left shoulder impingement.
"I'm not sure on the rehab assignment and what that's looking like right now," Manolino said of O'Neill. "I think it'll come sooner than we think."
* Former Orioles pitcher Kyle Gibson is signing with the Rays, as first reported by MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
Gibson had a 16.78 ERA and 2.919 in four starts during his second stint with the club after signing a $5.25 million contract in late March.
