Orioles place Santander, Ellis on injured list to end their seasons; Nevin added

BALTIMORE—For the fifth and sixth times in the last week, the Orioles placed a frontline player on the injured list. On Tuesday, the Orioles put outfielder Anthony Santander and right-handed pitcher Chris Ellis on the 10-day injured list to end their seasons.

Santander, who left Sunday’s game after eight innings, is on the injured list because of right knee sprain. Ellis, who left Friday’s game after three innings, is on the injured list because of right shoulder inflammation.

Bruce Zimmermann, who will  start Tuesday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox, was removed from the 60-day injured list, and Keegan Akin, who was placed on the 10-day injured list on September 22^nd because of a left adductor strain, was moved from the 10-day to 60-day injured list.

Infielder Tyler Nevin was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk.

Ellis and Santander join Akin, outfielder DJ Stewart (right knee) infielder Ramón Urias (right adductor strain) and reliever Tyler Wells (right shoulder) on the sidelines.

Santander, who was named the Most Valuable Oriole in 2020, was hampered this season by a sprained left ankle and a hamstring injury. He hit .241 with 18 home runs and 50 RBIs.

“He’s been playing banged-up for a while now,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He really gave us everything he had … I thought it was the right time to shut him down and it starts his offseason a little bit early and get his leg right and ready for spring training soon.

“It was a strange year for him in that he was never fully healthy, tried to play the best he could with some limitations. Felt good some days, didn’t feel good others, so I give him a lot of credit for hanging in there and helping out the team. When he’s right, he’s a difference-maker in the middle of the order, so an up-and-down year for him. I hope he gets healthy and has a good year next year.”

Nevin was with the Orioles in late May when Trey Mancini and Ryan Mountcastle were unavailable after getting hit by pitches. He was 1-for-5 in two games.

He was obtained from Colorado in August 2020 in the trade that sent relief pitcher Mychal Givens to the Rockies. At Norfolk, Nevin hit .227 with 16 home runs and 52 RBIs in 111 games. He has played first base, third base, left and right field.

“He’ll take ground balls in the corners and he’ll do some stuff in the corner outfield, and we’ll see where we are. Our roster is changing … as of late, so we’re going to take a look at him in four spots.”

Ellis had a 2.49 ERA in six starts after he was claimed on waivers from Tampa Bay on August 20^th.

“I thought Chris did a great job,” Hyde said. “I was impressed with a right-hander that has life to his fastball, two good breaking balls that neutralize right-handed hitters really well. We like the way he competed. He’s been facing some difficult lineups and he produced. That was a blow, losing him. I would have liked to see him finish the year.

“I thought he was really helping us, tough to see his season end early.”

Minor matters: Norfolk catcher Adley Rutschman, teammate outfielder Kyle Stowers and Double-A Bowie pitcher Grayson Rodriguez were at Camden Yards to receive awards for top minor league players of the year.

Rodriguez’s Bowie Baysox lost the best-of-five Double-A Northeast championship in three games to Akron.

“I wish it would have ended better, in terms of winning games,” Rodriguez said. “I think everything was on track, even better than we could have asked for.”

Stowers, who began the season at High-A Aberdeen, has been promoted twice — to Bowie and Norfolk. The Tides begin their final five games of the season on Wednesday.

“I have a high belief in myself as a player,” Stowers said. “I wasn’t necessarily expecting anything as far as moving up. It’s been fun to experience different coaches, different levels, different players.”

Rutschman is glad he moved up to Norfolk.

“Having a lot of guys who have time in the big leagues is huge,” Rutschman said of playing in Triple-A. “Whether it’s pitchers or hitters, just being able to pick their minds and see what it’s about, it gives you that sense of comfort, too, knowing what to expect. It’s cool because those experiences that they’ve had that you may never have and stories that they’re able to share that you’re able to learn from, it makes for good conversation.”