Baltimore Orioles Seemingly Know When Lefty is Returning to Help the Starting Rotation

It looks like starting pitcher John Means will re-join the Baltimore Orioles starting rotation next week. He hasn't pitched in a game since April of 2022.

It looks as if the Baltimore Orioles are set to get back left-handed pitcher John Means from the injured list next week.

The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

Means' 30-day rehab assignment window will come to a close Friday, so his start Wednesday was presumably his last in the minors before he returns from the 60-day injured list to rejoin the Orioles. The veteran southpaw reached five innings in each of his final two rehab starts with Norfolk, tossing 67 pitches (45 strikes) on Wednesday after throwing 86 pitches in his prior appearance. He turned in a 3.74 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 22:8 K:BB in 21.2 innings overall over his six rehab outings between Norfolk and Double-A Bowie, displaying solid command and control as he works his way back from April 2022 Tommy John surgery

There have also been reports that the O's will go to a six-man rotation for a time, which seems to help fit Means into the plans.

As the Orioles chase the best record in the American League and the No. 1 seed in the American League playoffs, getting Means back will be a big boost:

Through the lean years in Baltimore, Means was the ace of the staff. He won 12 games in an All-Star season in 2019, has thrown a no-hitter in his career and has 20 career victories. He owns a lifetime 3.81 ERA.

The Orioles are 88-51 on the year and 4.0 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.

They'll start a series with the Boston Red Sox on Friday night. First pitch is 7:10 p.m. ET.

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