Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle gives fans some good news, as the team’s playoff hopes continue to dwindle
We have all tried to attach a “but” to the Baltimore Orioles’ severely disappointing campaign. They are in last place, but wait until they get healthy.
The bats have not produced for most of the year, but wait until the lineup heats up.
The pitching staff is in shambles, but maybe general manger Mike Elias will get more reinforcements soon.
As the team’s struggles persist deep into June, it has become extremely difficult to slap a conjunction on this brutal season.
The Orioles (34-46) are seven games out of an American League Wild Card berth, have lost other key players to injury and are in danger of becoming a seller at the July 31 MLB trade deadline. A turnaround is possible, but it is improbable.
That is the “but” that weighs most heavily on fans’ minds right now. In tough times like these, the best thing Birdland could hope for is a bit of encouraging news. Fortunately, the O’s injured first baseman mercifully obliged on Friday.
“Ryan Mountcastle said his hamstring feels better,” Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reported. “Started a hitting progression. Thinks will be closer to 8 weeks than 12.”
Will the Orioles ignite in time?
The 2015 first-round draft pick was given a two-to-three-month recovery time frame after suffering a Grade 2 right hamstring strain at the end of May, and it appears as if he is on track to return at the top end of that estimation.
If everything continues to progress nicely, Mountcastle could rejoin Baltimore in late July.
The Orioles cannot afford to play the waiting game anymore, however.
They need to win games now. The current lineup, which is also missing two-time All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman, needs to get the job done. Although Gunnar Henderson is slashing an adequate .271/.346/.422/.769, more is expected from a talent of his caliber.
He can potentially set the tone by immediately going on a home run spree. Then, when players come off the injured list, perhaps Baltimore’s offense will collectively be equipped to carve up opposing pitching.
Mountcastle himself has yet to erupt this season. He is batting .246 with only two home runs, 15 RBIs and an abysmal .628 OPS in 187 at-bats. Ideally, the 28-year-old will be ready to tear the cover off the baseball once he returns.
Until then, the Orioles must dig deep in order to overcome their presently bleak odds. It is only going to get harder, as the Birds welcome in the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays (46-35) on Friday night.
