Inside The Orioles

Baltimore Orioles Superstar Exited Spring Game Early With 'Right Side Discomfort'

There is some concern present after the Baltimore Orioles superstar had to leave the spring training game on Wednesday early.

Brad Wakai

Oct 1, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) looks out from the dugout against the Kansas City Royals in game one of the Wild Card round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oct 1, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) looks out from the dugout against the Kansas City Royals in game one of the Wild Card round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Oriole Park at Camden Yards / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
In this story:

There are four words the Baltimore Orioles and this fan base did not want to hear at all this season; Gunnar Henderson is hurt.

That's what occurred on Thursday's spring training game, though.

Per Roch Kubatko of MASN, the superstar shortstop exited the contest against the Toronto Blue Jays after the first inning following his groundout where he slowed up going into first base to avoid a collision.

The insider notes that nothing on that play appeared to be out of the ordinary to result in Henderson getting injured or tweaking something, so maybe pulling him from the game was precautionary since he was already dealing with an oblique injury coming into camp.

At the time of writing, manager Brandon Hyde had not provided an update on the situation.

It goes without saying any potential injury to Henderson is a huge deal, and with the ceiling for this Orioles team already being a bit limited based on how the roster is constructed compared to last year, not having the MVP contender would be a major blow to their chances of winning the AL East.

But, there's no reason to panic just yet.

There is still roughly a month until Opening Day, and there has been no indication that Henderson suffered a severe injury or anything like that.

Still, this does provide a source of frustation.

Baltimore dealt with injuries throughout 2024, and the hope was they would be on the positive side of variance this year.

But with Jordan Westburg being sidelined since this past weekend due to lower-back soreness and Henderson leaving Thursday's game early with something that could be related to his oblique, this is not the start to spring the Orioles wanted.

Recommended Articles

Published
Brad Wakai
BRAD WAKAI

Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he did work at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad currently covers the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for Sports Illustrated/FanNation. He is also the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continues to cover Penn State athletics. Brad is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, discussing topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai

Home/News