BALTIMORE — The Orioles dropped the finale of a four-game set to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, but greater concern existed after the game regarding the status of J.J. Hardy.
The veteran shortstop fouled a ball off his left foot in the fourth inning and was removed in the top of the sixth as Pedro Alvarez entered the game at third base and Manny Machado shifted to shortstop. Manager Buck Showalter called Hardy’s injury a contusion after the game, but he hinted that the injury could be more serious without delving into specifics.
“I do know; I’ve got an idea,” Showalter said. “Right now, it’s a contusion. He fouled a ball off his foot, and it got real stiff and sore on it quickly, so he’s going to get some more detailed [tests]. I think it’s a scan [Monday] to see the extent of it. They took the X-ray here and they’re going to look at it in the morning.
“There are some things that we want to look at further and make sure that we’ve got our arms around what exactly it is.”
If Hardy were to be sidelined for an extended period of time, the Orioles could summon Ryan Flaherty or Paul Janish — or both — to provide more infield depth. Flaherty was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk last Monday, but he would not need to fulfill the full 10-day requirement to be recalled if Hardy were to go to the 15-day disabled list. The Orioles could elect to play Machado at short with Flaherty at third base in Hardy’s absence as they had a couple times last month.
Another option would be to promote Janish, who is not currently on the 40-man roster but has played well at Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles and Showalter love his defense at shortstop, but he is a career .216 hitter with a .574 on-base plus slugging percentage in 1,242 career plate appearances in the major leagues.
The 33-year-old Hardy is hitting .244 with two home runs, eight RBIs, and a .701 OPS in 22 games this season.
