BALTIMORE—Starting pitcher Dean Kremer remains on the active list after getting hit on the right forearm by a line drive by the Colorado Rockies’ Jordan Beck in the fourth inning on Saturday night.
“He’s still swollen. If some of the swelling gets out, he’ll maybe play catch tomorrow,” manager Brandon Hyde said before Monday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. “It’s pretty swollen.”
First baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who’s on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left wrist. is improving, though Hyde wouldn’t offer a timetable for his return.
“A little bit better, a little bit better day yesterday,” Hyde said. “He still hasn’t swung the bat yet.”
Infielder Ramón Urías was placed on the 10-day injured list with a sprained right ankle on Sunday, a day after he injured the ankle.
“He’s walking around on crutches right now,” Hyde said. “I don’t know how long that’s going to be. A sprained ankle could be two-to-four weeks, I don’t know.”
Reliever Jacob Webb threw a scoreless inning in his first rehab assignment for Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday night. He threw nine pitches.
“It went well last night, it sounds like,” Hyde said. “It sounds like he felt good today. That’s a positive step.”
Hyde is expecting Webb to have another outing for Norfolk because he hasn’t pitched since August 2nd but thinks he’s the closest to returning of all the 12 players on the injured list.
“It’s just frustrating a little bit,” Hyde said. “Like I’ve said a million times, we got so fortunate the last two years. It all caught up with us at once. You can never have enough depth.
“We’ve hung in there. We’re a half-game out with all these guys going out for a significant amount of time. Give a lot of credit to the guys in the clubhouse. We’re still not playing our best baseball. You’d like to see your full roster out there. It’s just not realistic right now.”
Hyde doesn’t know how quickly starter Grayson Rodriguez, reliever Danny Coulombe and infielder Jordan Westburg will adapt once they’re able to come back within the next few weeks.
“When guys miss a significant amount of time, and I’m praying for no setbacks, it’s going to be a real sprint for those guys that get back,” Hyde said. “I would assume they’re going to be close to what they were.”
He doesn’t know how many rehab at-bats Westburg will need. Norfolk’s season ends on September 22nd, a week before the Orioles’ season does. The Orioles can simulate games if necessary when the International League season ends.
“Right now we’re doing the best we can with the roster we have right now,” Hyde said. “Hopefully, we can get these guys back, and they can help us.”