Brutal home plate collision sets up promotion Orioles fans have been dying to see

Ouch!

Eric Cole

Baltimore Orioles v New York Yankees / Jim McIsaac/GettyImages

When the Baltimore Orioles placed Adley Rutschman on the IL, speculation began to grow that this could finally be the moment when Samuel Basallo would be called up to the big leagues. The team was quick to say, however, that they weren't considering such a move, and instead decided to recall Maverick Handley. But the Orioles' latest injury may force the team's hand.

On Sunday, a scary play unfolded against the New York Yankees. While attempting to cut down the runner at the plate, a throw up the third base line resulted in Jazz Chisholm colliding with Handley. The Orioles backstop was forced to exit the game, and afterwards, interim manager Tony Mansolino revealed that Handley was getting his "full body" looked at. A stint on the concussion IL could easily be in the cards.

While Baltimore's front office, for whatever reason, may not like it, an IL stint for Handley could mean that calling up their top prospect is the team's best option right now.

After Maverick Handley's injury, calling up Samuel Basallo may be only the Orioles only option

Despite posting a .968 OPS at Triple-A this season, Baltimore has stubbornly resisted the urge to call Basallo up to the big leagues. Promoting Handley made more sense in the moment, and the Orioles still had Gary Sanchez in the fold. But with Handley potentially out of the picture, and Baltimore's needs for a spark to get back into playoff contention, Basallo should get the call.

James McCann could've been an obvious fix. Bringing back the veteran backstop, and former O's catcher, however, is no longer on the table after he just signed a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. McCann had been in the Atlanta Braves' minor league system, but had a rolling opt-out that allowed him to be released if he was offered a major league deal. That came to pass, and McCann jumped at the opportunity, leaving the Orioles with one less option.

There's a chance that Baltimore doesn't believe Basallo is ready to call games behind the plate. His time at catcher has been limited while dealing with an elbow injury earlier this year. But no one denies his bat looks big league ready, and with the Orioles' offense a question mark, it could be Basallo Time very soon.

More Baltimore Orioles News from Birds Watcher

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.