June 22: Rutschman isnt expected to return until after the All-Star break, Mansolino told reporters (including ). June 21: The Orioles announced this afternoon that catcher is being placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique strain. Catcher was recalled to the majors to replace Rutschman on the roster. The news comes after Rutschman was a late scratch on Friday due to what the Orioles termed at the time as abdominal tightne s. Manager Tony Mansolino told reporters (including ) that Rutschman went for an MRI this morning. Evidently, that round of testing revealed a strained oblique for the switch-hitting backstop. A two-time All-Star and decorated hitter currently in the midst of his fourth season in the majors, Rutschman is hitting just .227/.319/.372 with a 100 wRC+ that clocks in as precisely league average. That could be construed as very concerning given that Rutschman also suffered a down year (104 wRC+) in 2024, but the good news is that Rutschmans underlying performance (.350 xwOBA) substantially outstrips his actual production (.309 wOBA) so far this season. Hes walking more than last year, sporting the best barrel rate (8.6%) of his career, and his paltry .247 BABIP is certain to increase if given time. More concerning than his offensive numbers is that hes been rather pedestrian behind the plate defensively this year according to advanced metrics, but defensive metrics Jordan Clarkson Jersey are notoriously fickle and it wouldnt be a shock to see those numbers recover over the long-term either. Of course, Rutschman will now need to get healthy and return to the field in order to make good on those projected improvements. Its not yet clear exactly how long Rutschman is expected to mi s, though oblique strains can be quite difficult for position players to bounce back from quickly due to the rotational nature of hitting. Even fairly mild strains can often take upwards of a month of recovery, so it wouldnt be a shock to see Rutschman out of commi sion until after the All-Star break. In the meantime, its clear that the Orioles will lean on a tandem of and Handley. Sanchez has made it into just 17 games this year after dealing with injuries of his own, but is slashing a respectable .217/.298/.433 (101 wRC+) with 32 homers in 598 plate appearances dating back to the 2023 campaign. Handley, meanwhile, made his big league debut earlier this year and has hit just .075/.136/.075 in 15 games as a big leaguer. Handleys lackluster performance will naturally create some attention on top catching prospect , who has long been considered one of the best prospects in the entire game. Mansolino largely shut down the idea that Basallo could be an option to come up any time soon, however. As noted by , Mansolino said that he hopes to see Basallo absolutely destroy Triple-A in all facets of the game before joining the big league club, and that hell be on the radar for a big league call-up once he knocks the door down. Its hard to argue that Basallo isnt already knocking on the door pretty strongly, at least from an offensive perspective. The 20-year-old has an absurd .266/.374/.589 slash line with the clubs Norfolk affiliate this year, good for a 151 wRC+. Hes hit 15 homers in just 46 games while walking at a phenomenal 14.4% clip. With that being said, hes only caught 15 games this season after dealing with hamstring and elbow i sues early in the year that cost him games and limited him to DH even when he was healthy enough to play. Given that reality and Basallos shaky grades behind the plate defensively from some scouts, its not nece sarily a shock that the Orioles would want to see a larger sample of their top prospects work behind the dish before promoting him to the majors. Jarrell Brantley Jersey