Orioles outfield depth faces serious test following latest addition to the IL

The Baltimore Orioles can't seem to shake their injury troubles, as today it was announced that outfielder Dylan Beavers was being added to the 10-day IL with a right oblique strain. Beavers was supposed to start Tuesday's game against the Yankees in centerfield, but was scratched shortly before the game and replaced by Colton Cowser. Now, with Beavers set to miss extended time, the Orioles are going to have to find a way to replace his production in the outfield, a task which is going to be harder than it sounds.

Beavers got off to a slow start this season, so his full-season numbers don't make it look like it would be hard to replace him, but he was one of the only players in the Orioles lineup who had been contributing offensively since the calendar flipped over to May.

With Beavers out the Orioles need their other outfielders to step up

In May, Beavers was slashing .292/.414/.458. His wRC+ for the month was 151. Losing a bat that hot is a problem for this Orioles team; he was carrying the entire outfield offensively. Just look at what the rest of the outfield has done so far in May:

Taylor Ward: .121/.383/.152
Tyler O'Neill: .100/.250/.150
Colton Cowser: .118/.250/.118
Leody Taveras: .194/.286/.258

Ward has a nice OBP, but outside of that, this group has been a disaster offensively for the past two weeks. Per the rules of baseball, the Orioles have to put three outfielders in the lineup every night, and until Beavers gets back, they're going to have to pick from that sad quartet above. It could get ugly fast.

The only other options the Orioles have for the outfield are Blaze Alexander, who hasn't exactly been lighting it up offensively so far this season, or they could call up one of Jud Fabian or Reed Trimble. Neither of those options feels like a real solution. A call-up would be exciting, but Fabian is a prospect who has always had hit tool problems in the minors, and that's not a problem that gets better against major league pitching, and Trimble is only on the 40-man to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

The nature of Beavers' injury is also concerning. Orioles fans should be familiar with the perils of an oblique strain, as that is very similar to the injury that turned Adley Rutschman from an unquestioned franchise cornerstone into someone people were ready to move on from. So this isn't an injury where Beavers is going to come back and just jump right back into his hot streak; it could continue to affect him for a while.

Last thing on this that's worth keeping an eye on is the fact that the corresponding move for Beavers going on the IL was Maverick Handley. Basallo was scratched from Monday's game, and the Orioles said he'd be fine, but they did have Rutschman catch all three games of the series, which they don't do a lot, and Basallo only played in one game as a DH.

It's possible that they just called up Handley as a placeholder, and there could be a follow-up move coming soon, but if Handley sticks around, it's a sign that Basallo's injury may be more serious than the Orioles are letting on.

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