Samuel Basallo was back in the Orioles lineup Thursday against the Mariners, starting at catcher and batting fifth after sitting out for three days with a wrist issue that had complicated how the team used him.
The return ended a strange stretch that began Sunday in Toronto, when Basallo left a loss after appearing to injure his wrist while trying to apply a tag at home plate. He caught the seventh inning before Leody Taveras pinch-hit for him in the eighth, then came off the bench to hit in the eighth and finished the game behind the plate in the ninth.
That sequence only deepened the uncertainty around his status. Craig Albernaz had said Basallo was fine and available, even as he was out of the lineup on Sunday, and later explained that the club was trying to do what was best for Sammy. Basallo, for his part, said he has been dealing with the wrist issue for years and described it as a bone growth that makes the problem uncomfortable.
Albernaz said the catcher has been in the process of learning his body and learning to play through things, calling that part of Basallo’s development. He said Basallo had been looking great over the previous few days, and that the Orioles would have to work through the pain management piece on the fly. The manager also said making calls that are not popular is sometimes necessary if they help the team and the players moving forward.
The Orioles had turned to third catcher Sam Huff for three straight days while Basallo was managed around the issue, and the timing overlapped with Adley Rutschman missing three days with a left hamstring issue before returning Thursday as well. For Baltimore, Basallo’s return brings back one of its key catching options, but it does not answer the bigger question of how often he will start while the wrist remains part of the conversation.
That is the next decision the Orioles have to make, and it may matter more than the one game Basallo played Thursday: whether they keep pushing him into the lineup, or keep treating his wrist as something that will require occasional restraint.
