Adley Rutschman hits Injured List for first time ever in blow to Orioles' momentum

Since his debut back in 2022, the Orioles have gone as Adley Rutschman has gone.

In Orioles wins, Rutschman is hitting .281 with an .834 OPS, according to Baseball Reference. In losses, though, he's hitting just .225 with a .665 OPS. It's not a shocking stat given the fact that Rutschman was a catalyst in the O's turnaround in that 2022 season, and has hit second in the lineup for 327 of his 483 career games.

When the Orioles got off to a slow start this season, Rutschman did too. The All-Star catcher ended the month of May hitting just .203 with a .632 OPS. Baltimore was just 21-36.

Wouldn't you know, in the month of June, the O's 12-7 record has coincided with a turnaround from their star catcher. Since the turn of the calendar, Rutschman is hitting .309 with an .890 OPS with just eight strikeouts compared to seven walks.

His trip to the injured list, announced today, couldn't have come at a worse time.

For the first time in his big league career, Rutschman is on the injured list. The star catcher suffered a left oblique strain, keeping him out for at least 10 days and most likely longer. In the meantime, the O's called up catcher Maverick Handley.

Orioles promote Maverick Handley after Adley Rutschman lands on Injured List

Handley, selected by Baltimore in the same draft class as Rutschman, has appeared in 15 big league games this season. He had just two hits and struck out 17 times, but was renowned for calling a good game behind the dish and delivering quality defense.

The Orioles are also fortunate to see Gary Sánchez heating up. The Kraken is slugging .765 with a 1.239 OPS in his five games back from injury, and the O's will have to lean on him much more heavily.

There will, too, of course, be rumblings about top prospect Samuel Basallo. At just 20 years old, the catching prospect has mashed 15 home runs in 46 games with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. There are no questions about his bat, but the Orioles won't rush his development if they feel his defense still needs work. The former international signing has only caught 15 games this year.

Baltimore just can't seem to catch a break on the injury front. Even without middle-of-the-lineup bats like Tyler O'Neill and Ryan Mountcastle, the O's were healthy enough to string some wins together, due in large part to the return of Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser and Ramón Laureano.

Now, the O's must find a way to continue to crawl back in the wild card race without the face of the franchise.