Orioles general manager Mike Elias informed reporters that he is in right Kyle Bradish had tommy john surgery with an internal brace today. He will be out until the end of this year and half of 2025. Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner was among those to relay the news to X. In addition, the left-hander Danny Coulombe had bone chips removed from his elbow, according to Allentuck in X. The southpaw could return this year but is likely to be out until September.
The Bradish news is a devastating blow to the team's turnover. He had a great season for the O's last year, making 30 starts with a 2.83 earned run average. He struck out 25% of the batters he faced, averaged 6.6% walks and hit grounders at a 49.2% clip.
Things got scary here in 2024, as Bradish was diagnosed with a sprain of his UCL in mid-February. The club first tried a non-surgical intervention and it seems to have been successful. Bradish was given an injection of platelet-rich plasma and was showing “rapid healing” in early March, according to Bradish himself.
Things seemed to accelerate normally from there. Bradish was able to begin rehab in the second week of April and was placed back on the injured list in early May. He made eight starts for the big league club with a 2.75 ERA. But he was back on the injured list last week, and with a sprain of his UCL, surgery is apparently inevitable this time around.
In retrospect, it would be easy to dismiss the past four months as an inevitable delay, but pitchers have suffered UCL injuries and avoided surgery before. Masahiro Tanaka he was diagnosed with a slightly torn UCL in 2014, for example, but never had it repaired and continued to pitch between 150 and 200 innings in each of the next five seasons. Seth Lugo he was also found to be a little sad in 2017 but he did not go under the knife. Recently, Triston McKenzie was diagnosed with a UCL sprain last summer but has made 14 starts for the Guardian this year.
Given the 14 to 18 months of recovery typically required after Tommy John surgery, pitchers and teams often choose to rule out non-surgical options before committing to the surgeon's table. O and Bradish believed they had a path open to them and tried to take it, but unfortunately they couldn't make it work in this instance.
This is now the third bowl the Orioles have lost to season-ending UCL surgery this year, as both. Tyler Wells again John Kusho go down this road before Bradish. Despite that loss, the rotation has been an overall strength. Baltimore's starters have a combined ERA of 3.03 this year, trailing only the Yankees and Phillies. But maintaining such a position without those three will be a challenge.
So far, the O's have stayed with them Corbin Burns, Grayson Rodriguez, Cole Irvin, Kade Povich again Albert Suárez in a trade, but it seems fair to expect the O's to pursue additions before the July 30 deadline. Povich has just two major league starts under his belt so far. Irvin has a 3.03 ERA on the year but is only striking out 17.9% of the batters he faces. His 4.16 SIERA this year and his career ERA of 4.24 perhaps suggest that some decline is coming. Suárez has a 2.05 ERA but is a 34-year-old journeyman with a 19.7% strikeout rate and an 81.9% strikeout rate.
Dean Kremer he should rejoin that team soon, as he is on the injured list but currently on rehab assignment. However, he is a solid reliever, with a 4.35 ERA in his career and a 4.32 ERA this year. Regarding depth options, Levi Stoudt was recently claimed off waivers but has a 6.92 ERA in Triple-A this year. Bruce Zimmermann he's one of the 40 but hasn't played since mid-May. Jonathan Heasley He is also on the list but he was working as a skater for children.
Last week, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the club would wait until closer to the deadline to decide how to begin play. With Bradish now out for a year, that will increase their desire to pursue a career in the coming months. In the meantime, Bradish will be transferred to the 60-day injured list whenever the O's need a roster spot for him. He will remain on the shelf for the rest of the year and will be eligible for compensation this offseason as a Super Two player.
The news in Coulombe is not so bad but still important. The lefty has a career ERA of 3.57 and that mark is just 2.68 since joining the O's before the 2023 season. He has thrown 77 1/3 innings since arriving in Baltimore, striking out 28.5% of the batters he faced while limiting the walks to a 5% clip.
He arrived in IL last week with elbow inflammation and now it looks like he will miss a few months, leaving the Orioles with Cionel Perez, Keegan Akin again Nick Vespi like paws in their cage.
Like Bradish, Coulombe will be a candidate to be moved to the 60-day IL whenever the O's need a roster spot. The two sides avoided a dispute hearing by agreeing to a one-year contract with a club option in January. That option has a base salary of $4MM and an escalator that starts at 50 appearances. He has played 29 games so far this year but will not be able to get that number to 50 if he is out until September. He will hit six years of service at the end of the season and become a free agent if the O's decline that option.
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