As corresponding moves, Cole Irvin and Nick Maton were designated for assignment.
The return of Orioles players on the injured list has gotten started at last. On Sunday morning ahead of the series finale against the Tigers, the O’s activated two of their injured players: Outfielder Heston Kjerstad and reliever Jacob Webb. As corresponding moves, the team designated seldom-used position player Nick Maton and pitcher Cole Irvin for assignment.
Webb’s arrival had been hinted by manager Brandon Hyde as recently as yesterday. The righty reliever was out for close to a month and a half with elbow inflammation and finished a successful minor league rehab assignment. Webb had a 3.08 ERA and 1.168 WHIP before his injury, having pitched well at times and occasionally poorly; he’s been the losing pitcher in five games.
Kjerstad being back as soon as today was not as expected, although the signs did seem to be pointing to a return soon. Baltimore Baseball’s Rich Dubroff was the first to get wind of the move before the team announced it. The Yankees caused a concussion to Kjerstad when he was hit in the head by a pitch in mid-July.
Initially, Kjerstad’s stay on the concussion list was brief, but after struggling in his return and being sent to the minors, the Orioles and Kjerstad determined that the concussion symptoms had not been cleared. He was returned to the MLB team and put on the injured list again, because a player must accumulate MLB service time if he is hurt for the MLB team. In 28 games for the Orioles this season, Kjerstad has batted .261/.370/.420. The scuffling O’s offense could use that right now.
Maton, 27, has notched all of five plate appearances across five games since joining the team on September 2. He went 0-5 at the plate.
For Irvin, 30, this is the second time this season that the Orioles have designated him for assignment. If he is not good enough to stick in the starting rotation, which he has not been, it seems that the team does not want to keep him around. I figured Burch Smith (6.20 ERA) was a shoo-in to get chucked when Webb was returned. Irvin’s 4.86 ERA isn’t as bad as that.