Three is the magic number for the Baltimore Orioles, who announced on Wednesday that Kyle Bradish underwent season-ending elbow surgery. Bradish is the third Orioles starter in the past 17 days to undergo a procedure on their ulnar collateral ligament. It continues a string of Tommy John surgeries on Orioles pitchers, going back to Félix Bautista last season.
Bradish left his June 14th start after the fifth inning with soreness in his right elbow. He was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right UCL sprain for the second time on Saturday. The 27-year-old right-hander began the season on the injured list after spraining his right UCL in January. Bradish made eight starts and recorded a 2.75 ERA with 53 strikeouts through 39 ⅓ innings pitched this year.
Kyle Bradish underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the remainder of the 2024 season, Mike Elias announced. pic.twitter.com/vl8SJootye
— Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) June 19, 2024
General manager Mike Elias announced on Wednesday that the right-hander underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery, the latest hit suffered by the injury-plagued Orioles rotation. Baltimore had already lost left-hander John Means (Tommy John surgery) and right-hander Tyler Wells (UCL repair surgery with internal brace).
Bradish had an internal brace installed to support his UCL in a hybrid procedure performed by Dr. Keith Meister. Baltimore’s young ace is unlikely to return until the second half of 2025.
“Kyle, enormous talent, enormous part of the team. This is a huge blow. This guy is really a tough hombre,” Elias said. “He gave us everything he had, and we’re going to miss him.”
Orioles Pitching Staff Loses Kyle Bradish and Danny Coulombe to Elbow Surgery
Elias also announced that the Orioles bullpen will be without their top left-hander Danny Coulombe until at least September. Coulombe had surgery on Tuesday with Dr. Neal ElAttrache to remove bone chips in his left elbow.
Danny Coulombe underwent a surgery to have bone chips removed from his left elbow yesterday. #Orioles GM Mike Elias is hopeful Coulombe could return in September.
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) June 19, 2024
The 34-year-old went on the 15-day injured list on June 11th after feeling soreness in his elbow playing catch. He has pitched to a 2.42 ERA with 28 strikeouts and a 0.62 WHIP over 26 innings. Coulombe has been one of Baltimore’s best relievers this season and the Orioles are optimistic he could return in September.
The Orioles (47-25) have the second-best record in the American League behind the Yankees (51-24). Baltimore is currently in the midst of a three-game series against their divisional rival in the Bronx.
Given the state of the Orioles pitching staff, Baltimore has been linked to several pitchers ahead of the trade deadline.
“We’re looking at the whole picture when it comes to this trade deadline,” Elias said. But we have, what I think, is a really good, hard-working front office, and we’re going to do our job.”
Dean Kremer should return from the injured list later this month after suffering a right triceps strain in late May. Baltimore’s No. 8 prospect Chayce McDermott could get the call from Triple-A Norfolk at some point this summer. Without Coulombe, more relievers will need to cover high-leverage spots alongside Yennier Cano and Cionel Pérez.
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