After Successful Surgery John Means' Time With Baltimore Orioles Likely Over

Another season-ending surgery likely marks the end of John Means' time with the Baltimore Orioles.

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher John Means (47) / Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles went into this past offseason knowing they needed to make some upgrades to their rotation.

After their starters, outside of Kyle Bradish, were shelled in their playoff series against the Texas Rangers, general manager Mike Elias was scouring the market in search of someone who could become their ace.

They ultimately landed Corbin Burnes, giving them an elite three-headed monster with the former NL Cy Young winner, Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez as their Top 3 guys.

As the backend became the new question mark, the Orioles expected former All-Star John Means to slide into that role after he looked to be on his way back from Tommy John surgery that caused him only to make six starts in 2022 and 2023.

He started this season on the injured list with a left forearm strain, but he made his return in May and looked like he once did with a 2-0 record and 2.61 ERA over his first four starts.

Unfortunately, the 31-year-old is going to miss the rest of the season after undergoing another Tommy John surgery on his UCL once again.

The team announced that Means underwent successful surgery on Monday, which is great for the left-hander, but this also likely marks the end of his time with Baltimore as recovery for this injury is anywhere from 12-18 months and he's hitting free agency after this year.

It's certainly a bummer for everyone.

Means made the All-Star game in his second Major League season and was the Opening Day starter in back-to-back years in 2021 and 2022.

He looked to have a bright future as a former 11th round pick of the franchise and was expected to be a staple of their rotation moving forward until he was hit hard with injuries.

There's always a chance the Orioles offer him a deal as a free agent and keep him under contract until he's ready to return, but based on where this franchise is in their contending window, it doesn't seem smart for a cash-strapped franchise to be paying a player coming off two Tommy John surgeries when he's missing all of 2025.

So, the next time Means is pitching for an MLB team is likely with another organization.