More thoughts on Means' surgery and impact on Orioles

Nothing that’s happened since John Means experienced tightness in his left forearm should be categorized as totally unexpected beyond perhaps the staff ace breaking his own news on social media.

The injury being to his elbow. The multiple MRIs and opinions. Confirmation that the ligament must be reconstructed and the 2022 season ends for him after two starts.

Additional tests aren’t usually run if the initial diagnosis is positive.

Means wanted to reach 200 innings this year. Of course he did. What starter aims low? It’s what 300 innings used to be back in the day.

Reaching that total seemed overly ambitious with the shorter leash in April, but stalling at eight is an unforeseen circumstance. And the surgery is expected to deny him a chance to be anointed the opening day starter for a fourth consecutive season – though he couldn’t fulfill it in 2020 due to shoulder fatigue.

Chris Tillman is the last Orioles pitcher to start three opening days in a row, from 2014-16. Mike Mussina did it from 1994-96 and 1998-2000.

The only way to deny Means the honor beyond injury was a trade. Teams kept checking his availability. The Orioles weren’t aggressive on their end, but they’d listen to offers and react if overwhelmed.

That storyline is packed away in mothballs.

The curiosity is how the Orioles react to losing Means. They were braced for it. This didn’t sneak up on them. But what now?

A starting rotation of Jordan Lyles, Tyler Wells, Bruce Zimmermann, Spenser Watkins and Chris Ellis isn’t going to stay intact.

We have no idea whether Matt Harvey will be cleared to pitch in the majors without a suspension following his testimony in the Eric Kay trial. He started the first extended spring training game in Sarasota. Kyle Bradish is poised to become the next pitching prospect promoted to the majors – yes, ahead of Grayson Rodriguez, who’s three years younger and has made three career Triple-A starts – but the Orioles keep insisting that they won’t rush anyone just to fill a void on the roster.

If Bradish is deemed ready, he’s the guy. But the exact formula to determine it is unknown. A specific number of innings? A specific date? How far he’s stretched in his pitch count?

Fans want Bradish, and especially if they can’t have Rodriguez yet, but don’t think he’s covering for Means. That’s an unfair expectation. He’s going to face enough pressure just moving beyond Triple-A and receiving this much attention as a top 10 prospect in the system.

Play the kids. Just don’t demand that they immediately perform like seasoned veterans.

The Orioles probably weren’t making the playoffs with Means, but they needed his innings and leadership. They needed how he increased their chances of being competitive on those days, and how he eased the burden on the bullpen and the rest of the staff.

This is a huge hole punched in it.

We haven’t even covered how a bad thing happened to a really good guy. Easily one of the best who’s walked inside the home clubhouse at Camden Yards.

You don’t wish this upon anybody, but especially someone like Means, who’s been subjected to enough adversity over the years, both on and off the field. Always handling it like a pro. Tested more times than seems fair.

I guess we’ll never know whether a three-week spring training after the lockout was a contributing factor. Teams throughout baseball feared an increase in injuries, as they did in 2021 while ramping up from 60 to 162 games.

An explanation wouldn’t make the Orioles feel any better about their rotten luck, which is touching various levels of the organization.

Dean Kremer strained his left oblique while warming in the bullpen during the third game of the season.

Adley Rutschman would be catching on this West Coast trip, or at least with Norfolk, if not for the triceps strain in spring training. He’s going to be assigned to a lower affiliate and work his way up.

Tides outfielder Kyle Stowers felt discomfort on one side while taking batting practice last week, after missing games with a bruised hand. Outfielder Heston Kjerstad should be a few weeks into his first professional games, but a hamstring injury sustained in an intrasquad game has kept him in extended spring training. Infielder Terrin Vavra is on Norfolk’s injured list with strained hamstring. Outfielder Yusniel Diaz is on the injured list with the same ailment. Starter Kyle Brnovich has a right elbow sprain that seems destined to bring the same result as Means’ exams.

Double-A Bowie outfielder Hudson Haskin is back in the lineup after being hit on the hand and conjuring images of his fractured thumb last summer.

Baysox infielder/outfielder Toby Welk was moved to the 60-day injured list with what’s been described as a left knee sprain. Welk had a double and two home runs among his four hits in 16 at-bats. The homers came in consecutive games. The injury came as he made a catch for the final out on April 15 in Binghamton.

“Really hated to see Toby go down like he did,” Bowie manager Kyle Moore said last week, while Welk was on the seven-day IL. “He was really about to get as hot as you possibly can be. Left field is a new position for him, but he’s got the run tool and the throw tool that play really good in left field. We thought we found something, but unfortunately he has a little bit of an issue from basically running into the wall and the ground at the same time on the very last play of the game. Made the catch and fell because of the momentum that led him to the left field wall.

“I think he’ll be back for us. It doesn’t require surgery. But it’s something that’s definitely going to keep him out for a few weeks.”

More weeks now than initially expected.

And there are more injuries than the ones mentioned above. You get the idea.

The sport doesn’t allow for a reset. The Orioles march on without the leader of their rotation, a leader in their clubhouse. The anchor of their staff whose absence could sink them deeper.