Beginning a six-game road trip in Kansas City on Friday night, the Orioles have officially welcomed back Gunnar Henderson.
As expected, the All-Star shortstop was activated from the 10-day injured list after missing the first seven games of the 2025 season with an intercostal strain suffered in late February. With rib-cage muscle strains being susceptible to re-injury, Baltimore used extreme caution by keeping Henderson out of the remaining Grapefruit League schedule and not trying to rush him back in time for Opening Day, instead sending him on a five-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk to ramp up for his return to the majors. Henderson went 5-for-19 with two home runs, four RBIs, a walk, and four strikeouts with the Tides.
The 23-year-old finished fourth in AL MVP voting last season after batting .281 with 37 homers, 92 RBIs, and an .893 on-base plus slugging percentage. Henderson was also voted Most Valuable Oriole in each of the last two seasons.
“Everybody’s looking forward to having Gunnar back on the team,” manager Brandon Hyde said Thursday. “The rehab went really, really well. I talked to him a couple days ago, and he feels great swinging the bat. His timing came, especially the last few days. He just had to get out there and get some reps defensively and get some games in. It all went well.”
Henderson was batting in the leadoff spot as the Orioles prepared to face Royal starter Seth Lugo, who pitched against them in Game 2 of last October’s AL Wild Card Series.
To make room for Henderson on the 26-man roster, Baltimore optioned outfielder Dylan Carlson to Norfolk. Carlson had been recalled Monday to take the place of outfielder Colton Cowser, who fractured his left thumb on a head-first slide in Toronto last Sunday. In six plate appearances, Carlson went 0-for-4 with one RBI, a walk, and four strikeouts.
