Cowser set to begin injury rehab assignment Wednesday

The Orioles are trying to get healthier after injuries hit them early again, and the news on outfielder Colton Cowser leaves them more encouraged.

Cowser is reporting to High-A Aberdeen today for pregame workouts, and his rehab assignment begins Wednesday if the weather cooperates.

Cowser fractured his left thumb in the fourth game of the season while diving into first base at Rogers Centre in Toronto. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list and can be reinstated on May 30.

The loss has been felt all season with the Orioles' offense slashing .230/.298/.388. They’re batting .198 with a .612 OPS with runners in scoring position.

A runner-up finish last season in Rookie of the Year voting in the American League raised expectations for Cowser. He began the season 2-for-16 against the Blue Jays and broke the thumb trying to beat out a ground ball.

Hitting in the cage Saturday was a first for Cowser and he’s been doing full baseball activities leading into his assignment with the IronBirds. He regrets diving into the bag.

“Yeah, I mean, hindsight, you can always say just run through it,” he said Saturday in his first interview since the injury. “It wasn’t one of those things where I thought it was a faster situation. It was PFP (pitchers' fielding practice), coming over and throw was up the line, trying to kind of avoid a tag, and my instincts just kind of took over and tried to get around them.

“It was unfortunate. I know that it’s not a baseball play that you’re really supposed to make, but sometimes the instincts take over and hindsight, I could have just dogged it out of the box and not really put an effort in. But at the time, was just trying to get the tying runner up to the plate.

“I’m always going to hustle, that’s just kind of who I am. Definitely, going forward, going to be definitely more cautious with that and be a little bit smarter.”

The Orioles are down a couple of starting outfielders with Tyler O’Neill’s return to the injured list with a left shoulder impingement. Ramón Laureano is providing a lift with 11 hits in his last 19 at-bats, including last night’s home run in a 5-4 loss in Milwaukee.

Laureano was slashing .192/.250/.466 before the streak and his line has improved to .272/.327/.543.

Left-hander Keegan Akin is an opener again tonight as the Orioles continue their series against the Brewers.

This is the second time in 2025 that Akin has filled the role. He tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings in Game 2 of an April 26 doubleheader in Detroit.

Right-handers are batting .174/.283/.304 against Akin this season, and left-handers are batting .257/.333/.514.

Opponents have a .138 average and .310 slugging percentage against Akin in eight road games this season. The numbers rise to .250 and .442 at home.

The Orioles recalled Chayce McDermott from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned reliever Kade Strowd, who allowed a run Sunday in his major league debut. McDermott will follow Akin in bulk relief.

McDermott was the 27^th man in Game 2 of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Twins and allowed four runs in three innings before the Orioles returned him to Norfolk. He walked three batters and struck out five.

The Orioles have lost seven in a row for the first time since 2021 and are 16 games below .500. They’ve tumbled 12 games out of first place and 10 out of the Wild Card.

Brewers rookie right-hander Logan Henderson has made two starts and allowed three runs with 16 strikeouts in 11 innings. He had a 2.40 ERA and 0.967 WHIP in six games (five starts) with Triple-A Nashville.

Henderson averages 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings in four minor league seasons.