The Orioles welcomed back one of their most dependable pieces of the starting rotation Thursday by activating right-handed pitcher Miguel Gonzalez from the 15-day disabled list.
Making the start in the series finale against Boston, Gonzalez hadn’t pitched for Baltimore since injuring his right groin in a June 9 start against the Red Sox. The 31-year-old made one rehab start for Double-A Bowie, allowing two runs on four hits over five innings of work on Saturday.
In his first 12 starts of the season, Gonzalez was 5-4 with a 3.33 ERA in 73 innings of work.
To make room for Gonzalez on the active roster, the Orioles optioned right-handed relief pitcher Mychal Givens back to Bowie. The 25-year-old made his major league debut on Wednesday night, striking out one in a scoreless inning of work in a 5-1 loss at Fenway Park.
Givens became the 999th player to appear in a game for the Orioles since the franchise moved to Baltimore in 1954.
With lefty Wei-Yin Chen scheduled to be recalled to make the series-opening start against the Cleveland Indians at Camden Yards, the Orioles will need to make another roster move on Friday. Seven outfielders remain on the current 25-man roster, so Baltimore could be forced to part ways with a player who doesn’t have any minor-league options.
Center fielder Adam Jones was out of the lineup for the seventh time in nine games on Thursday and could land on the DL if his right shoulder doesn’t improve quickly, a scenario that would temporarily ease the roster crunch but leave the Orioles without their best player until early July.
