Orioles starter John Means left this afternoon’s appearance against the Cardinals after three innings. Postgame, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that the left-hander had experienced elbow discomfort (link via Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner). The team was sending Means for further evaluation to determine the severity of a possible injury.
Means was working with diminished stuff. According to Brooks Baseball, his fastball averaged a season-low 88.8 MPH. He has been in the 90-92 range in every other start. Means’ heater topped out at 90.3 MPH today, his lowest maximum velocity of the season.
It’s discouraging news for a pitcher who has battled repeated arm issues over the last couple years. Means was generally durable between 2019-21, his first three full MLB campaigns. He suffered an elbow sprain just two starts into his 2022 season. Means underwent Tommy John surgery not long after, keeping him out of MLB action for nearly 18 months. Baltimore reinstated the former All-Star in the middle of September. Means had a solid four-start run — a 2.66 ERA over 23 2/3 innings — but felt renewed elbow soreness in October.
Baltimore left him off their playoff roster and slow-played his offseason. Means opened the 2024 season on the injured list as a result. He missed the season’s first month. Hyde plugged Means back into the rotation on May 1. He has again been quite effective, turning in a 2.61 ERA with 16 strikeouts and only two walks (both of which came in today’s outing) through 20 innings.
The team will know more about a potential timetable for Means’ return in the coming days. It would appear that another trip to the injured list is a possibility, though the bigger question is whether there’s any kind of structural issue.
If Means goes to the IL, Cole Irvin should draw back into the rotation. The left-hander has been available out of the bullpen for the past few days. (He tossed 3 1/3 innings behind Means today.) Irvin spent most of the year in the starting staff but was briefly pushed to relief once Grayson Rodriguez returned from the injured list last week. Rodriguez slots in behind Corbin Burnes and alongside Kyle Bradish and Dean Kremer as Baltimore’s currently healthy starters.
cooked
Poor guy
Cmon man, already? He looked awesome against us last week too, I was impressed
Another TJ candidate
He literally just had it too
How can you write this article without mentioning the rain delay???.
I suppose because the rain delay didn’t have anything to do with Means? He started the game, went 3 innings with diminished stuff and then didn’t come back out after the delay.
Need to start stocking up on pitchers who don’t have elbows.
Hoping it’s not serious, would be a shame for the O’s and for Means.
Elbow discomfort is almost never not serious, especially for a guy with prior TJS.
True but it also is common for guys working back to have bouts of elbow soreness. It’s been awhile since he came back but he hasn’t pitched much.
Don’t mind the troll, Cohens Wallet. Can’t take the same criticism or sarcasm.
I’m with you, hope it’s not serious as he’s a good pitcher when healthy.
Discouraging and disappointing for Means. Right now I think Oriole starters are fine even without Means. Late inning BP is the issue. 8th and 9th inning guys. Cano and Kimbrel aren’t the answer.
Cano is fine, but just not as a closer
Cade Povich time.
That’s what I’m hoping for
Again…
That’s 3 years in a row.
He didn’t have the means
From the guy who said name jokes are never funny? Hmmmm.
“Rules are for thee, not for me” –
Steve’s modus operandi
“PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREEEAACHHHH”
-Testament
Was on his way to being a perennial Cy candidate before the injuries.
This team needs a quality innings eater to save the bullpen and then they need to make a move for any of the closers available. Maximize this window, win now, tomorrow win the future. No excuse this team can’t acquire the assets needed to win this year, provide serviceable options next year and not even have to touch their blue chippers. Get it done and become America’s team. Period.
They can do that in July, sure, but exactly who is available for them right now without using any blue chippers?
Sadly I think he is done. The Orioles wasted this poor guy tanking for years to build a winner and right when it’s coming together his arm is shot. Feel bad for the guy because he played those years and never complained unlike Strasberg who would go weeks on the IL for no reason. I hope it’s not a terrible injury but usually in these cases it’s a bad omen to see the elbow giving problems. Maybe he was brought back too soon last year?
With due respect, you don’t know that Strasburg went “on the IL for no reason.”
It’s reasonable to assume that players and team training/medical personnel are somewhat better informed about these things than randos like us.
🙁 Tommy John next week
People need to stop having hope for Baltimore. I’ve Been watching them for 40 years, it’s a false hope team year after year. You can talk about their farm system and hitters all you want, but it doesn’t matter when you have no pitching. Burnes and Means will both be free agents at the end of the year and that leaves you with Bradish and Grayson, and I’m sure one of them will need Tommy John by next year. Give it up Os fans, you’ll save yourself a lot of heartache. I said it before the season started, Baltimore will struggle for a wild card spot and NY will win the division (and I’m unfortunately an orioles fan)
You must be fun at parties.
You must be somber at funerals
Once the players and front office have changed and you have the inrush of young talent the only thing holding the team back to the past is that negativity almost at a subconscious level from fans that sometimes seeps over to the club. Even as a Braves fan I started watching in 2003 and they never won a playoff series until recently. The vibe was always “we know they will lose” and it just creates this atmosphere of lack of positivity and hope. As a fan you get into that vibe and maybe don’t even watch and before you know it they win a world series and you missed most of all of it. Look at Seattle. They make the playoffs and every story is about their playoff drought. That’s a bunch of negativity. It’s obviously a story but it takes away from the present. If the players and fans ignored all that there would be a much better atmosphere to win.
I appreciate the reply and understand where you’re coming from, but in my lifetime, I’ve seen the orioles make the playoffs in 96, 97, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2023, but never once seen them make a words series. I’ve practically seen every other MLB make a World Series appearances in my lifetime. Basically what I’m trying to say is that, I’m tired of making excuses for the Orioles. Every time they lose, the fans always have an excuse for them. They had a real shot last year (didn’t get swept one time during the regular season) but they magically got swept in the division series against a wild card team. I’ve lost all hope for this team. I still watch them because they have some of my favorite players, but other than that, i don’t expect the team to do anything great. I won’t be surprised if they don’t even make the playoffs. I’ve seen the braves make and win multiple World Series over the last 40 years.. I can’t say the same for Baltimore
Well I also saw how this current Braves manifestation played out. Baltimore was just coming out of the gutter recently. They played so well last year it’s easy to forget it was really their coming out party. Almost no team that has gone through a rebuild and built up a good team has won the first year. They overachieved really. I have seen several teams get their feet wet in year one and the next time they win a playoff series or two then they win it all. I know the Braves won 2 WS but I was 4 when they won in 95 and I stopped watching until mid way through 21 and even then barely and I assumed they’d lose and didn’t watch two great rounds of playoffs because of my assumption (I missed them beat LAD which was great because they always lost to them). I was there in the WS tho. But I wasn’t a “true” fan really. Just a grown up watching his childhood dream happen even tho I missed most of it.
I would also say that although ATL has been hugely successful think of how much losing the fans witness on a team like that. The more division titles you win the more playoff disappointments you witness. For a fan watching after 99 that is a perennial great regular season followed by immediate ousting in the playoffs over and over and over. To me the regular season is most important so I can see why the Orioles have been so disappointing plus the lack of a WS. The regular season hopes die slowly. The playoff series happen so quick and it’s so demoralizing after the great regular season. The regular season becomes less magical too. It’s just a long lead up to a letdown.
The whole team comes back guaranteed aside from Burnes. There’s still lots of talent in the minors. Jumping off the O’s train right now is pretty foolish.
Elias has built this team far different than previous regimes. This team has a chance to sustain success.
I think an innings eater is the last thing we need. I’d much rather pull up Povich if Irvin or Kremer slump. Without Means maybe we look to add an impact starter but a set up man/closer type is a bigger area of need.
Ouch, hope it’s just some fatigue. This guy is rolling.
Very solid starter when healthy. About 400 innings. Career whip of 1.05. Career era of 3.71. Career FIP of 4.56. Has had years with a FIP over 5 and a whip under 1.00. Perhaps it’s cause he gives up homers. I call b.s.
Neither ways nor Means.
BaseballFan21: Isn’t winning a pennant or World Series enough without random fans needing to call their club “America’s team?”
America is a big country and everybody doesn’t root for the same teams, so “America’s team” is a stupid concept anyway.
Embrace diversity instead.
Baron can’t take what he dishes out. Lightweight thinker.
What he doesn’t understand is it’s a slogan that was part of a TV sell, and a reference to the Cowboys as no other team took the moniker (strongly) in MLB.
You’re right, I do. I live in a racially and ethnically mixed neighborhood in a large, diverse city that even you have heard of, and being that my wife is Afro-Caribbean, I embrace it within my own family.
Thanks for the compliment.
Where do you live, Oscar Meyer?
Or is that not your name? I’m certainly not right about everything, lol.
We’re hoping you’d be right about something, let alone everything. Also your wife wants you to turn off the device and give her the attention you give to bad baseball takes.
He’s not representative of Liberals. He’s closed minded and stuck on repeat. The arrogance in his comments is appalling.
NOOOOOOOOOOO !!! He’s looked real good since coming back. Fingers crossed hopefully just lil touch of tendinitis.
This means bad
A means to an end. And an end to the Means it would seem
Poor guy… dude looks like he was gonna be the real deal not that long ago… looking like he’s gonna turn into one of those “what could have been” guys just from injuries alone.