Orioles news: Bullpen help on the way, Heston Kjerstad rehab assignment, Anthony Santander's record

On-field performance aside, there are reasons to be optimistic in Birdland. Relievers Jacob Webb and Danny Coulombe are currently on rehab assignments and both should return in the immediate future to boost a struggling Orioles' bullpen.

Webb was sent out on his assignment last week and despite a rough outing with the Baysox has looked ready to return. His velocity is up where it needs to be so the biggest thing will be making sure his elbow is recovering properly between outings before getting him back up to Baltimore.

Manager Brandon Hyde told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that Webb might require another rehab outing just to increase the confidence level but all signs point toward a return to Baltimore in short order.

Likewise, lefty Danny Coulombe went out on a rehab assignment Wednesday and threw a scoreless inning for the Tides. Coulombe looked sharp while notching a strikeout in his lone inning of work. The lefty is recovering from an elbow injury as well, so it may take a week or so before he feels right and the Orioles are able to get him back up to Baltimore.

With the way things have gone for the Orioles' bullpen in the second half, Webb and Coulombe can't return quickly enough. It'll be important for the pair to be healthy as we head into the postseason in order to give the O's more bullpen depth that they desperately need.

Heston Kjerstad finally looks ready to return to Baltimore

Heston Kjerstad's rehab assignment is going well and there's a belief that he'll be able to return to Baltimore within the next week or so. Kjerstad has been out since the end of July thanks to a concussion sustained over six weeks ago and his absence in the lineup has been noticeable.

The young left hander raked during his time with the Orioles this year, posting an impressive .261/.370/.420 with a much improved walk rate and respectable defense in left field. In his absence, the Orioles had been playing a combination of players including Austin Slater and Ryan O'Hearn. However with Cedric Mullins' most recent hot streak, Colton Cowser has gotten every day reps in left over the past couple weeks.

It's unclear what the plan will be when Kjerstad returns to full health. Many fans expect a swift return to Baltimore but it's possible the Orioles decide to keep Kjerstad in the minors - the Tides' season runs through the last week of September so they do have the ability to option Kjerstad back to Triple-A and let him get every day reps through the end of the month. We'll see what happens.

Anthony Santander makes history in an Orioles uniform

On Monday night, Anthony Santander hit his 40th home run of the year, and followed it up with number 41 on Wednesday. With the homer on Monday, Santander became the first Orioles' player to reach the 40 home run mark since Mark Trumbo did it in 2016.

His 41st homer on Wednesday is also the most in a season by a switch hitter since Carlos Beltran hit 41 back in 2006. Just four switch hitters have ever hit more homers in a season - Mickey Mantle, Lance Berkman, Chipper Jones, and Mark Teixeira have all hit at least 42, with Mantle being the only switch hitter to ever surpass 50 in a season.

Santander is a long shot to get to 50 with just three weeks to play but regardless of where he ends up, he's had a spectacular year.