-1745819772711.png){kind=logo}
Orioles infielder Jorge Mateo is beginning his injury rehab assignment Tuesday night for Triple-A Norfolk. The Tides are hosting Gwinnett.
Mateo is on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation caused by a May 31 collision with Heston Kjerstad in right-center field. He was eligible to return on Tuesday but needs to get some at-bats.
“I feel a lot better right now,” Mateo said today via interpreter Brandon Quinones.
The injury occurred in the same elbow that underwent reconstructive surgery last summer, but Mateo was bothered only by some swelling. He’s able to swing a bat, play defense, slide and do “everything I need to do.”
Infielder Luis Vázquez remains on the roster in Mateo’s absence.
Tyler O’Neill also was at his locker this afternoon and getting ready to move his rehab assignment with Double-A Chesapeake. He went 1-for-3 yesterday at High-A Aberdeen and is staying local while also working out with the athletic training staff at Camden Yards.
O’Neill is recovering from a left shoulder impingement, which followed the neck inflammation that led to an earlier stint on the injured list.
“Feeling a lot better lately,” he said. “The past week or so has gone a lot more smooth with the buildup, so I’m dealing with a lot less pain and just excited to be playing baseball games again. Just looking forward to getting back up to speed.”
O’Neill was shut down while at Norfolk due to recurring pain in the shoulder, and he received a cortisone injection in the AC joint.
“It’s never a sure thing when you go through injections and stuff like that,” he said. “More of a trial and error phase. Last time I was definitely dealing with still just restricted with the range of motion, flexibility. Still dealing with pain at the top of the swing. This go-around it’s been feeling a lot better through the buildup process, so hopefully that continues in a game intensity.”
Injuries have limited O’Neill to 24 games in the first season of his three-year, $49.5 million contract. He doesn’t know when he will return to the 26-man roster.
“Honestly, just taking it day-by-day,” he said. “Just making sure that I’m out there playing up to speed, recovering well. Not gonna put a firm timetable on anything yet. I just want to continue to do the good work.”
The Orioles are hopeful that being at full strength will improve his production. He’s batting .188/.280/.325.
“I’m not gonna make excuses for anything,” he said. “Obviously, I want to be out there performing to the best of my ability at all times. Unfortunately, this year it’s just felt a little tougher to complete the work that I need to and get in a good spot, so I’m looking forward to coming back strong and helping these guys win more ballgames.”
Infielder Jordan Westburg appears to have avoided the injured list after spraining his left index finger Saturday in New York. He remains day-to-day but should get back into the lineup this week. The Orioles are off Thursday.
Westburg was going through some therapy for the knuckle this afternoon.
“He seems pretty optimistic this morning,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “Definitely won’t be in there today. I think tomorrow is probably on the table, possibility. Wednesday is on the table, and then we’ll kind of go from there.
“I think if all goes well and you don’t see him by Wednesday, I think you’d see him Friday.”
Left-hander Cade Povich will begin his injury rehab assignment “soon,” Mansolino said. Povich is on the injured list with left hip inflammation.
Catcher Maverick Handley is on the seven-day concussion injured list after yesterday’s collision with the Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr.
“He’s had a couple in his past,” Mansolino said. “Whether you’ve had past concussions or not, the level of concern is really high, especially in today’s, I guess, just what we know about concussions.
“It was ugly. That’s an ugly collision there in a lot of ways. You watch the tape and you can’t feel anything but fortunate that Jazz tried to veer off. As you watch that thing, Jazz didn’t really have anywhere to go and he made an attempt to kind of get out of the way, thank goodness. Otherwise, it could have been a little bit worse.”
The starter for Wednesday night remains TBA. Tomoyuki Sugano normally would take his turn, but Mansolino said the club is “working through a couple different options.”
For the Rangers
Sam Haggerty LF
Wyatt Langford CF
Marcus Semien 2B
Adolis García RF
Jonah Heim DH
Kyle Higashioka C
Josh Jung 3B
Ezequiel Duran SS
Justin Foscue 1B
Patrick Corbin LHP
