Orioles make painful Zach Eflin IL move

The Baltimore Orioles are going through a rough stretch of the season right now as they’re down most of their reliable pitchers, and Zach Eflin was one of the latest to get dealt some bad news, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

“The Orioles officially place ace Zach Eflin on the injured list with his lat strain and recall RHP Colin Selby from Triple-A Norfolk,” Nightengale wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The Orioles announced that they would be shutting Eflin down for a week after he was diagnosed with a low-grade lat strain following their loss against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He felt discomfort during his start on April 7, as he tossed six innings of one-run ball before leaving at 73 pitches. The team shared that he had shoulder fatigue and then they sent him for imaging.

Now with the Orioles at 5-7, they are working without three of their best pitches. Kyle Bradish underwent Tommy John surgery last June, and Grayson Rodriguez went down in Spring Training with elbow inflammation. Though he’s been working to get back, he hasn’t gotten to the point of a minor-league rehab assignment.

Losing Eflin is a tough blow for the Orioles, as he earned a run average of around 3.50 in 2023 and 2024, and to start this season, he posted a 3.00 ERA while working six innings per start over his first three appearances.

The Orioles will have to try to maintain while Eflin is sidelined, and they have the bodies try and make up for his production as much as they can. The season is still fresh, and if they can stay steady in the standings while Eflin works to get back, they’ll be in a good position.

The season is long, so maybe it’s good that this happened earlier rather than late in the year when the games are more intense.