Orioles’ continued issues with injuries raising red flags about training staff

It’s impossible to tell the story of the 2025 Baltimore Orioles without talking about injuries. Whether it be Adley Rutschman missing most of the season, Félix Bautista suffering another season-ending injury or seemingly every outfielder being on the shelf at one point this year, so much of their underperformance can be linked back to their stars being unable to stay on the field. 

That theme reared its head again last week when the team placed Jordan Westburg (right ankle sprain) and Brandon Young (left hamstring strain) on the injured list.

With Young’s placement on the injured list, the Orioles have now had 28 players on the injured list at some point this year (Westburg was already on the injured list earlier this year), along with them now having 14 players on their major league injured list. 

Orioles’ continued issues with injuries raising red flags about medical and training staff

While injuries are always going to be a part of baseball thanks to the torque involved in the sport along with the daily routine, this year’s Orioles haven’t had much success at keeping their players on the field, which should be a bit concerning to Orioles fans. 

Although they’ve had some predictable injuries like Tyler O'Neill (who always seems to get hurt) missing good chunks of the year, some of the injuries have been a bit more surprising. The biggest surprise came in the form of Rutschman being placed on the injured list twice this season after never having been put on the injured list earlier in his career. 

“It’s been frustrating. It’s been really frustrating,” Rutschman said last week when he was placed on the injured list again with a right oblique strain. “I think that’s kind of the word that it seems everyone’s going back to.”

The good news for the Orioles is that Westburg’s injury doesn’t seem like it’ll end his season. They initially thought that there would be a chance that he’d be able to avoid the injured list, but the injury flared up too much to keep him off the shelf, though he is expected to return some time in September. 

The same can’t be said for Young, who is expected to miss serious time, which is a phrase that should go on the Orioles’ crest at this point. That said, they’re going to get some injury reinforcements back soon in the form of Kyle Bradish, Albert Suárez, Tyler Wells, Westburg, Jorge Mateo and Cody Poteet. 

Although their initial injuries helped contribute to the hole the Orioles find themselves in, getting them back before the end of the season will be a great sign as they look to build some momentum ahead of 2026. 

However, at this point, it’s also worth asking if the Orioles have done enough of an organizational overhaul to prevent the same injury bug from carrying over into next season.

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