The road back from a long-term injury can be an isolating one.
Tyler Wells has become all too familiar with that fact, tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow for the second time last year and undergoing internal brace surgery to fix it. After just three starts, he was forced to spend the rest of the season rehabilitating away from most of his teammates. The right-hander completed most of his rehab work last summer at the Orioles’ spring training complex in Sarasota, Florida, and sometimes felt as if he were on an island.
This year, however, the Orioles’ complex at Ed Smith Stadium is undergoing $21 million renovations to improve their player development facilities. As a result, their Florida Complex League rookie ball team is playing its home games at their minor league Twin Lakes Park and their injured MLB players such as Wells are completing their rehab work in Baltimore instead.
“The way that I look at it is that the more that we’re able to kind of be around the guys and the more that we get closer to ramping up, I think the easier it becomes to just really understand where the club is at, what we need to do,” Wells said. “I just think that it really kind of lays out the foundation of our mental attitude as we start to ramp up and face hitters.”
He’s far from alone. The Orioles have five pitchers on the 60-day injured list working their way back from injuries that have sidelined them for most, if not all, of the season: Wells, Kyle Bradish (Tommy John elbow surgery), Grayson Rodriguez (lat strain), Albert Suárez (subscapularis strain) and Cody Poteet (shoulder inflammation). Other arms such as Zach Eflin and Andrew Kittredge have joined them in the trainer’s room during their respective IL stints as well.
Wells and Bradish had their surgeries within days of each other last year and have leaned on each other often as they’ve targeted second-half returns in 2025. But it takes a large support system for any professional athlete to complete the grueling rehab process required to return to full strength after suffering a major injury. Wells, Kittredge and Suárez have all reported positive effects from being around the clubhouse and the rest of their teammates more.
“I think that’s the preferred way from the players’ standpoint,” Kittredge said of rehabbing at the team’s home facilities. “I know, just in my path, coming from TJ, having a long rehab, you can feel pretty disconnected from the team and like you’re almost not a part of it. So, I think the more the guys can be around the team, it helps them mentally get through the rehab and all that stuff. But it’s also good just to have guys that you like being around so I think from clubhouse chemistry, morale, all that, it’s good to have them here.”
It’s worked the other way around as well. Last season, many of the Orioles’ long-term injured players cleaned out their lockers in the Camden Yards clubhouse and only made sporadic appearances throughout the summer. This year, they’ve been able to contribute to the overall team culture even though they’re not taking the field.
“I love seeing some of these guys,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “It’s unique when guys are on the IL and they’re not playing, a lot of times they’re a little more stress-free than normal. I think we can all imagine when you’re playing in the big leagues on a daily basis, there’s a little bit of stress. … Being around these guys and seeing them relaxed and carefree, it’s great and I think it’s great for their teammates and it’s great for the dugout. So, we love having these guys around and we feel like it’s gone pretty well.”
None of the Orioles’ injured pitchers have been ruled out for the rest of the season and they still hope to make an impact on the field down the stretch. They will have to leave Baltimore to go out on rehab assignments once they’re ready to start facing live hitters, but they’ll already be settled in the Orioles’ clubhouse when they are finally ready to retake the mound again.
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