BALTIMORE — Just days after a lingering hamstring strain landed Hyun Soo Kim on the 15-day disabled list, the Orioles have now lost fellow outfielder Joey Rickard to injury.
The Rule 5 pick suffered an injury to a ligament in his right thumb while trying to make a leaping catch of Brett Gardner’s leadoff triple in Wednesday’s 5-0 loss at Yankee Stadium. Rickard did not leave that game, but the condition of his thumb prevented him from playing on Thursday, prompting the club to send him for a magnetic resonance imaging exam prior to Friday’s series opener against the Cleveland Indians at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Manager Buck Showalter said after Friday’s game that Rickard would be sidelined at least four to six weeks and would not return until September.
The Orioles recalled outfielder Dariel Alvarez from Triple-A Norfolk to take Rickard’s place on the 25-man roster. The recently-promoted Julio Borbon started in left field and batted ninth on Friday night.
One of the good stories of the 2016 season, Rickard made the club after a terrific spring and began the year as the Orioles’ everyday leadoff hitter and left fielder. However, his struggles as well as the emergence of Kim eventually led to Rickard settling into a role as an extra outfielder playing regularly against left-handed starters.
In 282 plate appearances, Rickard is hitting .268 with five home runs, 19 RBIs, and a .696 on-base plus slugging percentage.
The Orioles couldn’t afford to wait on him with other players still feeling the effects of the illness that swept through the clubhouse. Chris Davis and Manny Machado were in the lineup for the second straight game on Friday, but both are still feeling lingering effects after being knocked out of action in New York.
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Executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said the Orioles “could take a look” at the possibility of adding another outfielder at the trade deadline with both Kim and Rickard on the DL, but he reiterated that his focus is on trying to add starting pitching in a thin market. Kim hadn’t played since July 10 before officially being placed on the DL on Tuesday, making him eligible to return as early as July 26.
Alvarez is beginning his second stint with the Orioles this season after briefly joining them on their final road trip before the break. The 27-year-old was hitting .280 with four homers, 26 doubles, 40 RBIs, and a .697 OPS with the Tides this season.
NOTES: Matt Wieters was out of the starting lineup for the fourth straight game on Friday while continuing to nurse a bruised right foot, but Showalter said he was available to catch and play if necessary. … Showalter said Dylan Bundy could still remain in the starting rotation for the remainder of the season despite an undisclosed innings limit, but it remains to be seen how the Orioles would handle his workload in each start. … Center fielder Adam Jones was back in Friday’s lineup after back spasms forced him out of Wednesday’s loss to the Yankees as well as the series finale in the Bronx.
