Westburg’s value to Orioles was most apparent when he wasn’t there

There were season-ending elbow injuries to starting pitchers Kyle Bradish, John Means, Tyler Wells and infielder Jorge Mateo, three months lost for reliever Danny Coulombe after bone chips were removed from his left elbow and a month-long injured list stint for first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.

Those all hurt the Orioles, but the one that seemed to damage team chemistry the most was when Jordan Westburg fractured his right hand when he was hit by a pitch on July 31^st.

The Orioles didn’t have a great July, going 12-13, but when Westburg was hurt, they hoped he’d be back before the end of the regular season.

Their offensive numbers in August sagged. In July, their batting average and OPS were .258 and .762. In August, they were a season-low .231 and .691.

Westburg’s injury came at the worst time, the day after the trade deadline when the Orioles sent Connor Norby, who would have been a logical replacement for him, to Miami along with outfielder Kyle Stowers for left-handed starter Trevor Rogers, who was quickly sent to Triple-A Norfolk after a 7.11 ERA in four starts.

Norby could have filled in for Westburg at second while Rámon Urías played third. Instead, the Orioles had Jackson Holliday, who hit just .218 with 51 strikeouts in 154 at-bats, and Coby Mayo, who struggled with 22 strikeouts and just four hits in 41 at-bats (.098), sometimes filling in at third base.

Things got worse on August 31^st, a month after Westburg’s injury when Urías sprained his right ankle and missed three weeks.

Westburg and Urías came back on September 22^nd and the Orioles won five of their last seven games. It gave the appearance of a team coming together going into the postseason, but the Orioles were inept on offense while losing two games to the Kansas City Royals.

Westburg’s first half earned him a place on the American League All-Star team. He hit .271 with an .814 OPS, 15 home runs and 50 RBIs.

The hand cost Westburg a chance to play 150 games. He ended with 107.

He had just three games at Triple-A Norfolk in his rehab, and hit .192 (5-for-26) in six games after he returned.

The 25-year-old is extremely thoughtful, and answered honestly before Game 1 of the Wild Card Series when asked if he was ready.

“I feel good. I don’t think that I’m like 100 percent, right,” he said. “Kind of didn’t have the buildup that a normal injury would, but I’m good enough. I’m excited to be back. I’m ready to be back. Adrenaline does a lot of wonders for the body and I’m sure it’s going to kick in even more in this series.

“So I’m happy to be back. I’m excited to be back. I’m going to play as hard as I can, knowing that, you know, there might not be a tomorrow, and my hand can put up with that. Just going to take one day at a time. Not really — it’s not something that I think about on the feel. So it’s not going to affect my performance, I don’t think.”

Westburg went 1-for-6 in the two games the Orioles lost to Kansas City.

His play in the field and work ethic drew raves from third base coach Tony Mansolino early in the season.

“He’s really skilled,” Mansolino said. “It’s a really boring infielder, and I say that with all the respect in the world. He can make a flashy play, but he’s just so steady. He makes everything look really easy and really simple.”

Westburg made just one error in 43 chances at third base in 29 games in 2023, his rookie season, when he was called up in late June. In 50 games at second, he didn’t make any errors.

Last season, he made only two in 139 chances at second and three in 133 chances at third.

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.