Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jorge Mateo has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left elbow subluxation, the team announced Thursday. He suffered the injury during Tuesday night, when his arm bent awkwardly on a collision with fellow infielder Gunnar Henderson as both pursued a batted ball from Marlins outfielder Jesús Sánchez during the third inning.
Here is the injury, though you are forewarned, it is pretty ugly:
The Orioles announced X-rays were negative following the game, though Mateo had not yet been sent for an MRI. Wednesday's MRI presumably revealed an injury severe enough to warrant a stint on the injured list.
Mateo, 29, is hitting .229/.267/.401 (9q OPS+) with five home runs and 13 stolen bases (on 15 attempts) over the course of his first 68 games. His contributions thus far this season have been worth an estimated 0.8 Wins Above Replacement, according to the calculations housed at Baseball Reference.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde subsequently removed Mateo from the contest and altered his defensive alignment. Jordan Westburg, Baltimore's starting third baseman, was shifted to the keystone; Ramón Urías came off the bench to take over at the hot corner. Connor Norby, not Jackson Holliday, was called up Thursday to replace Mateo on the roster.
It's worth noting that Mateo was not the only Orioles player to leave the field with an apparent injury during the third inning. Baltimore right-hander Albert Suárez was struck in the shin by a line drive from the next batter, but escaped with just a bruise. Suárez, a pleasant surprise had a 3.48 ERA in 72 1/3 innings this year. (The Orioles are known to be in the trade market for pitching help.)
Baltimore has quietly lost seven of their last 10 games and 16 of their last 27 games. Despite that, they are 1 1/2 games up in the AL East.
