BALTIMORE — Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy is expected to miss at least four to six weeks after suffering a non-displaced fracture of his right wrist in Sunday’s win over St. Louis.
The 34-year-old underwent a CT scan Monday, but the injury will not require surgery. Hardy was hit by a 93 mph fastball from Cardinals starter Lance Lynn in the fourth inning and left the game before his next at-bat two innings later.
The Orioles selected the contract of veteran infielder Paul Janish from Triple-A Norfolk to take Hardy’s place on the 25-man roster.
This marks the second year in a row in which Hardy will miss extended time because of a broken bone. He suffered a hairline fracture when he fouled a ball off his left foot last May, an injury that sidelined him for just over six weeks.
“I felt like I was making strides getting out of the little funk I was in and then this happens,” said Hardy, who is batting a career-low .211 this season. “It’s just frustrating. I’d never broken a bone in my life until last year and now this.”
Hardy owns the second-worst on-base plus slugging percentage (.556) among all qualified major league hitters this season, but he said he had recently made some adjustments at the plate with hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh and had been 7-for-23 with four doubles over his last seven games. He is in the final season of a three-year, $40 million contract.
Manager Buck Showalter said veteran Ruben Tejada will receive the bulk of the opportunities at shortstop in Hardy’s absence. Once the starting shortstop of the New York Mets, Tejada, 27, is a .252 career hitter with a .647 OPS in 2,284 career plate appearances over eight major league seasons.
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Third baseman Manny Machado moving over to his natural shortstop position is not a consideration at this point. Showalter would prefer leaving the rest of the infield intact and expressed belief that it was “taxing” for Machado to move back and forth between the two positions in Hardy’s absence last year.
Despite Hardy no longer bringing the offensive value he offered in his first three seasons with the Orioles from 2011-2013, his teammates and coaches have regularly spoken about the veteran infielder’s intangibles and on-field leadership over the years.
“He’s always separating offense from defense and always [handling] coverages on stolen bases, hit-and-runs, relays,” Showalter said. “He’s kind of like the quarterback of the infield so to speak. There’s a lot of things that people miss that he brings. There’s just a real calmness with everybody. He makes everybody click a little bit better.
“He’s driven in some big runs for us. I know it hasn’t been offensively what he wants it to be or he’s capable of. But he still had some big hits through that. There are a lot of things you miss with him that you can’t quantify.”
According to Baseball Reference, Hardy has been worth minus-0.6 wins above replacement, another indicator of how dramatic his struggles at the plate have been this season. He has been worth one defensive run saved and owns a 0.4 defensive WAR.
In other injury-related news, closer Zach Britton was scheduled to begin his minor-league rehab assignment at short-season Single-A Aberdeen on Monday, but that’s been rescheduled for Tuesday because of inclement weather. The two-time All-Star selection has been on the disabled list with the recurrence of a left forearm strain since early May.
Right-handed reliever Darren O’Day had a successful mound session Monday and will pitch in a simulated game on Wednesday. If that goes well, O’Day could be activated from the DL as soon as Friday. He has been out since the first week of June with a right shoulder strain.
Utility infielder Ryan Flaherty (right shoulder) experienced a setback throwing from more than 60 feet in Sarasota on Monday. He had felt no discomfort in previous throwing sessions from up to 60 feet, but this development obviously means his return is not imminent.
Right-handed pitcher Mike Wright will travel to Sarasota to continue rehabbing his right shoulder Tuesday. First baseman Chris Davis (strained right oblique) will remain with the club and travel with the Orioles for this weekend’s series against Tampa Bay before reporting to Sarasota next week.
