Baltimore Orioles' Emerging Ace Progressing in Return From UCL Injury

Baltimore Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish is once again playing catch, this time from 140 feet out, MASN Sports' Roch Kubatko reported Tuesday morning.

Bradish was diagnosed with a sprained UCL at the start of Spring Training. He was playing catch from 90 feet out a week later, and has now reached his usual maximum long toss length.

Per Kubatko, Bradish's elbow "still feels good."

General manager Mike Elias said Bradish would hit the injured list when his UCL issue was first diagnosed, but teams are currently only able to place players on the 60-day injured list. The 27-year-old righty may not be ready in time for Opening Day, but he likely won't be out anywhere near long enough to justify that long of an IL stint.

Bradish is heading into his third MLB season, having made his big league debut in 2022.

After going 4-7 with a 4.90 ERA, 1.402 WHIP and 0.4 WAR as a rookie, Bradish took quite the leap in 2023 when he went 12-7 with a 2.83 ERA, 1.043 WHIP and 4.9 WAR. Bradish finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting and started Game 1 of the ALDS for Baltimore.

The Orioles will be without Bradish to open the 2024 season, as well as All-Star left-hander John Means. Baltimore will still have perennial Cy Young contender Corbin Burnes, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Milwaukee Brewers in February, plus up-and-comer Grayson Rodriguez and a handful of other homegrown arms.

With Opening Day a little over three weeks away, FanGraphs is projecting the Orioles to go 84-78 and place third in the AL East.