Orioles injury update: Tomoyuki Sugano exits early, Colton Cowser, Gunnar Henderson

Japanese righty Tomoyuki Sugano made his MLB debut with the Orioles on Sunday afternoon and overall it was an encouraging outing. Sugano pitched into the fifth inning and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks, while striking out one. He threw just 73 pitches, 45 of which were strikes, including 5 whiffs.

Unfortunately, Sugano was lifted from the game early after experiencing cramps in his hands. There was some speculation early on that it might have been an issue with a blister, but it looks like it's less serious than that. After the game, Brandon Hyde spoke with reporters and said that Sugano experienced cramping in both hands, possibly from being dehydrated.

Hyde said the plan was for Sugano to finish at least the fifth inning, and possibly go back out for the sixth depending on how many pitches he would have been at. Hyde did downplay the issue in his press conference and mentioned that he expects Sugano to be 100% for his next turn through the rotation. That's great news for the Orioles, who are dealing with a few too many pitching injuries at the moment.

Two Orioles players go down with injury during Sunday's matchup against the Blue Jays

In addition to Sugano, Orioles' left fielder Colton Cowser left Sunday's matchup early after injuring his thumb while sliding into first base trying to beat out a ground ball. Kids at home, please remember that it's always a better idea to run through first base than to dive headfirst to beat the throw.

Anyway, Cowser's left thumb reportedly bent "all the way back" after colliding with the bag, which sounds terrible. He did remain in the game as a defender but was pulled prior to what would have been his final at-bat. Hyde alluded to the fact that he would have had trouble swinging the bat and said that Cowser is currently getting looked at to determine the severity of the issue.

On Monday morning we did get confirmation that Cowser broke his thumb on the slide. It's being reported that he'll miss between 2-4 weeks while recovering from the injury. It's unclear how the injury will affect his performance, if at all, when he returns. The Orioles badly need Cowser at full strength in 2025. Dylan Carlson was recalled to take Cowser's spot on the active roster.

During his press conference, Hyde was also asked about Jordan Westburg. The Orioles' infielder had a monster day on Saturday but was absent from Sunday's lineup. Hyde said that Westburg would have been available in an emergency situation only, but that we should expect to see him back in action for today's home opener against the Red Sox.

Down on the farm, Gunnar Henderson is off to a hot start to his rehab assignment with the Norfolk Tides. Henderson has reached base in all three of his starts and has notched a homer and several hard hit balls. He looks to be on track to rejoin the Orioles when he's first eligible to come off the IL on April 3.