Orioles Pitchers And Catchers Reported Annnnnnnnnnnd Chris Tillman Is Hurt
Best time of the year, we get to see those cell phone pictures from beat writers of all the pitchers and catchers who are out of shape playing some long toss. Nothing like it, baby. Orioles pitchers and catchers reported on Monday, and even though position players aren’t due to camp till Friday, most of them are down there working out already, love seeing that. What you don’t love seeing is the Orioles ace, Chris Tillman looking like he will already miss Opening Day.
News came out today that Chris Tillman had a PRP in his right shoulder, the same shoulder that shut him down late last summer, and will miss three weeks. It didn’t happen today though, it’s reported that it happened in December, and that is when he had the PRP injection. My question is why are we just finding out about it now? Typical Orioles and their injuries. All that time the fans were saying “we have 6 starters for 5 spots” before they traded Yovani Gallardo to the Mariners, now they have 4 guys for 5 spots. It does make sense that At FanFest in January, Duquette kept mentioning that they need more depth for pitching. What doesn’t make sense is why didn’t they say Tillman was hurt? It happens over and over with the Birds, whether it is Manny’s knee that they said was fine, Wieters elbow at first, Adam Jones the last few seasons, it seems like every injury gets covered up and hidden. Now I am wondering why they didn’t push harder for Jason Hammel or try and go after Doug Fister.
This is where the Orioles could take advantage of the new 10 Day DL, if he goes on that, he can’t appear until April 9th due to the DL stint being backdated. They won’t need a 5th starter until April 15th, so they can get by with Kevin Gausman starting on Opening Day, Dylan Bundy in Game 2, Ubaldo Jimenez in Game 3, and Wade Miley in the 4th game, but that is without no setbacks for Tillman. MASN’s Roch Kubatko reported that Tillman will likely throw in a simulated game on March 14th, and then appear in an exhibition game a few days later.
It sucks that the O’s ace, a guy who was on pace to win 20 games last season before he was sidelined, is now forced to sit out, but I guess it is better now than in a few weeks and he misses an extended number of regular season games. Bottom line is when Tillman takes the mound, the O’s win. Take a look at the stat above, it’s insane how well they do when he is out there. I hope that this is more of a precaution too, especially with Tillman being a free agent after this season, you know he will be motivated to come back and pitch his ass off to earn an extension from the O’s, or a deal elsewhere. With a pitching staff that isn’t a strongpoint, this isn’t good, but if it turns out to be just a minor setback, I think this is something the Orioles can handle early in the season.
This is where you have to hope that Gausman really will take a step forward, and he shows us that he will be the eventual ace of this club. Same thing with Dylan Bundy, the leash is off him, no restrictions or anything on him. Bundy will be counted on to contribute right away as a starter, not hidden in the bullpen like he was early on last year. Ubaldo and Miley have no choice other than to perform, because Tyler Wilson and Mike Wright are not the answers either. From a staff who was overcrowded to a staff that is short 1 guy in 6 weeks, have to see the major league ready guys step up.
One day down, one injured bird. Here is to hoping that there are no more injuries this Spring Training for the Birds! Listen to me talk about this injury and the rest of Spring Training this Friday, and every Friday until the regular season on 105.7 The Fan, I will be in studio from 7-10 to talk Orioles and the rest of the sports world.