Orioles injury update: Rough news for Gunnar Henderson, Andrew Kittredge shut down

Well, it doesn't seem to be the worst case scenario with Gunner Henderson's injury status but for Orioles fans hoping to see him back in action, it's not ideal news. As reported on Wednesday afternoon, the star shortstop is dealing with what the O's are calling an intercostal strain and is currently without a timeline for return.

In the announcement, the Orioles stated that they're hopeful that Henderson will be ready for Opening Day. However, the fact that it's even in question at this point isn't great to hear. In general, intercostal injuries have a fairly wide recovery timeline. Mild strains may only take a few days to recover from, but more serious ones can keep players out for months at a time.

For what it's worth, manager Brandon Hyde did describe Henderson's injury as mild, so it's possible that the comment about him potentially needing to miss time to start the year could be much ado about nothing. But if one thing is certain, the Orioles are going to take their time in getting Henderson back. He's too important to this team's success to want to fast track him and risk further aggravation of the strain.

Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson dealing with a mild intercostal strain

In the meantime, the Orioles will use an array of infielders to cover the hole left in Henderson's absence. Livan Soto and Luis Vasquez have gotten reps there in the past two matchups, and that should continue while Henderson remains out. However, with Jordan Westburg still sidelined, things are a bit more complicated.

The Orioles could be forced to shift Jackson Holliday to short if Henderson is going to miss extended time. That would allow the O's to play some combination of Vimael Machin, Terrin Vavra, and Ramon Urías at second, seeing as none of them have the defensive chops to play short. Regardless, let's cross our fingers and hope that Henderson returns to full health sooner than later so we don't have to worry about this.

In addition to Henderson, newly acquired RHP Andrew Kittredge has also been shut down thanks to a left knee issue. The righty reported feeling soreness in his knee over the weekend and the pain has apparently lingered into this week.

It was reported that Kittredge did undergo an MRI but it looks like the injury isn't overly serious. He's just waiting for the remaining inflammation to settle down before ramping back up on the mound. Given a couple days off, Kittredge should return without issue. If he's healthy this year, Kittredge could compete for saves on days that Félix Bautista isn't available.