Pair of Orioles relievers face injury setbacks ahead of Opening Day

Baltimore Orioles reliever Mychal Givens’ status for Opening Day is uncertain, as the veteran reliever is battling knee soreness and hasn’t pitched since March 16. His readiness is perhaps even more doubtful after Sunday morning’s throwing session; Givens was working off a mound and throwing to batters before cutting the session short. According to reporters on the scene (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko), Givens threw only 10 pitches and then left the mound in visible anger, even throwing his glove to the ground.

A trip to the 15-day injured list is looking increasingly likely in the wake of Sunday’s news, and it’s a tough setback considering that Givens seemed to be relatively close to returning. Givens played catch on flat ground on consecutive days, and told Kubatko and other reporters yesterday that “for me, just getting the reps in is what I need, even if it’s a back field game.  If I can get a couple more outings just to get my feet to rhythm and body in rhythm….[I can] get back to being in game mode.”

In a relatively quiet Baltimore offseason, Givens was one of the team’s more high-profile additions, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $5M in guaranteed money (there is also a mutual option for 2024). The 32-year-old was signed to bring some veteran experience to a pretty young Orioles bullpen, and Givens still has plenty to offer on the mound, after posting a 3.38 ERA over 61.1 innings with the Cubs and Mets in 2022.

Dillon Tate is another Orioles reliever facing an injury problem, as the righty is still recovering from a forearm/flexor strain suffered in November. Manager Brandon Hyde said that Tate is tentatively planned to return by the middle of May, so while Tate will begin the season on the 15-day injured list, the O’s haven’t considered placing him on the 60-day IL. It is possible that a 60-day placement might yet come if Tate hits any setbacks, but he has seemingly been making pretty steady process, including a mound session yesterday.

On the catching front, James McCann has been bothered by some soreness in his left side, and his Opening Day availability might also be in doubt. “We’ve got some big steps to overcome these next couple days to be sure,” McCann told MLB.com’s Jake Rill and other reporters, “but again, it’s one of those things, for me, better be safe than sorry.”

McCann is unfortunately no stranger to side injuries, as he missed just under a month of the 2022 due to a left oblique strain. While this current soreness is also on his left side, McCann said his current issue is in a different area, and “it’s only minor” compared to his strain.

The Orioles acquired McCann in a December trade with the Mets, as New York also included $19M of the $24M owed to the catcher over the 2023-24 seasons. McCann will give Baltimore some veteran catching depth behind Adley Rutschman, but the O’s will have to dig deeper down the depth chart if McCann ends up having to spend any time on the 10-day IL to fully recover. Anthony Bemboom and Mark Kolozsvary have some MLB experience and are currently slated for the Orioles’ Triple-A team, though neither backstop is on the 40-man roster.