Orioles star pitcher undergoes Season-Ending Tommy John surgery as they prepare bid for replacement
The Baltimore Orioles caught a bad break, with the news of star right-hander Kyle Bradish going down with an injury that required Tommy John surgery to repair. Bradish is now done for the rest of the 2024 MLB season after going under the knife, as reported on Wednesday by Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner.
“Kyle Bradish had Tommy John surgery with an internal brace today, general manager Mike Elias said.”
Bradish is also reportedly now sporting an internal brace, according to Orioles play-by-play broadcaster Melanie Newman.
This is a painful development for the Orioles, who are already dealing with other injuries in their pitching staff. John Means and Tyler Wells are still sidelined and not expected to see action this year after each underwent surgery to repair their respective elbow injuries.
It has been a tough year for Bradish. He missed the first month of the campaign with a UCL sprain. And just when it looked like he was putting together a solid season for the Orioles, Bradish suffered an injury and will have to wait for several months for a chance to see action on the mound again. In his most recent start, Bradish pitched for five innings in a 5-3 loss at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies at home on June 14. He allowed just two earned runs on only three hits with four strikeouts through 74 pitches before an elbow discomfort forced him to end his outing.
With Bradish done for the rest of the season, he will not be able to add to his 2-0 record, 2.75 ERA, and 1.068 WHIP across eight starts in 2024. His .188 opponents batting average, 1.2 percent walk rate, and 32.5 strikeout percentage are all the best of his career in the big leagues thus far. That he gave up two home runs of the season in the Phillies game after not surrendering any in his first seven starts of the year now seems like clear evidence of his elbow’s issue.
With Bradish’s 2024 season done, the challenge for the Orioles’ starting rotation to continue being stellar despite the injuries has just become harder. Going into Wednesday, the Orioles sported the third-best starters ERA in the big leagues with a 3.03 mark. Only the New York Yankees and the Phillies have better collective starters ERA in baseball this season.
Corbin Burns, Grayson Rodriguez, and Cole Irvin are now viewed as the top anchors of the Orioles’ rotation while Cade Povich and Albert Suárez complete the five-man cast without Bradish. With Bradish out of the picture, the Orioles now look like a club that should be hunting for pitching help ahead of the July 30 MLB trade deadline.
The Orioles entered Wednesday second in the American League East standings with a 47-25 record — 2.5 games behind the Yankees for the top spot in the division.
