On Sunday in the Bronx, the Orioles’ injury woes took another gut-wrenching turn when Maverick Handley collided with Jazz Chisholm Jr. after being pulled into the baseline by an errant throw. Injuries are nothing new for the Orioles; Handley is the 22nd different player to go on Baltimore’s IL and the third different catcher. What makes this injury different is the possible replacement that Mike Elias is, so far, declining to bring up.
Samuel Basallo is the last of the wave of Orioles super prospects that started in 2019 with Adley Rutschman. The soon-to-be 21-year-old out of the Dominican Republic is the first great success story of Elias’ commitment to making the O’s major players in the international free agent market.