Ryan Mountcastle injury could lead to more playing time for this veteran hitter

Ryan Mountcastle is just the latest Orioles' hitter to head to the IL, suffering a wrist injury back on August 22. The Orioles tried to let Mountcastle remain on the active roster and let the wrist heal. Unfortunately, Brandon Hyde told reporters that Mountcastle's wrist didn't respond positively to treatment and the team was forced to send him to the 15-day IL.

As Abigail Miskowiec noted earlier this week, Mountcastle has been going through a rough patch since the All-Star break. He's hit just .250/.286/.357 with 1 home run since the break and his performance over the last two months is a big part of why the Orioles haven't been able to break away from the Yankees in the AL East race.

Assuming he doesn't have any setbacks, Mountcastle's trip to the IL will hopefully give him the opportunity to reset before heading into the final month of the season. The Orioles will need his bat down the stretch but until he returns, his absence could create an opportunity for infielder Emmanuel Rivera to get a bit more playing time.

Orioles' infielder Emmanuel Rivera should see more time at first base in Ryan Mountcastle's absence

Since Mountcastle went down last Thursday, Ryan O'Hearn has started 4 of the O's 5 games at first base. He's clearly the best option to fill the void there, considering his defensive capability and his strong performance at the plate.

But despite his 121 wRC+ and elite plate discipline, O'Hearn has been a much better hitter against left-handed pitchers than he has against righties. And with Brandon Hyde's tendency to platoon hitters, that should open the door for Rivera to step in and get starts against lefties.

Rivera isn't a great hitter but he's been serviceable against lefties over the past four years. For his career, Rivera is a .255/.319/.379 hitter against lefties with an 8% walk rate and a 17.6% strikeout rate. Despite his inability to hit for power, the ability to get on base should be enough for him to work as the weak-side platoon option until Mountcastle returns.

He's certainly not the sexy option and won't be a middle of the lineup type of hitter on the nights that he starts, but Rivera could be a viable option for Hyde and the Orioles in a platoon role down the stretch.

With just a month left in the season, the Orioles need all the help they can get. They're still battling with the Yankees in the division and hold a 3.5 game lead in the AL Wild Card race pending the results of Tuesday's late games.

A number of injuries have held the Orioles back to this point but if they can survive the next couple weeks and get back to full strength with guys like Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Jordan Westburg, and Jorge Mateo, they'll be a dangerous team in October.