The Orioles placed left-handed pitcher Keegan Akin and outfielder Anthony Santander on the Covid-19 injured list on Wednesday morning, about two hours before their game against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Akin, who was scheduled to start, will be replaced by left-hander, Alexander Wells, who was on the taxi squad. Wells will be the 13^th starting pitcher used by the Orioles this season.

Santander, who missed the early part of summer camp in July 2020 after testing positive for Covid-19, is being replaced on the roster by Ryan McKenna, was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday to make room for pitcher John Means.

Hyde said the Orioles were following the Covid protocols but could provide no further details. He said the team found out about the situation late Tuesday night and didn’t know how long Akin and Santander would be on the Covid-19 list. Unlike the 10-day injured list, there is no minimum stay on the Covid-19 list.

The New York Yankees were the most recent team to have Covid-19 issues, forcing a postponement of last Thursday’s game against the Red Sox.

“We’ve seen it a few times with the league,” Hyde said. “This is the first time it’s happened with us. It’s unfortunate, but other teams have had the same sort of issue recently.”

The Orioles reached the 85 percent vaccination rate on May 12th, allowing them to relax protocols.

“Nothing changes as of now,” Hyde said. “There’s going to be more information. This is pretty last-minute news. There’s going to be more information as we go along. Right now, we’re putting two guys on the injured list because of Covid protocols, and we’ll go from there.”