Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg will undergo elbow surgery and miss the rest of the season, reports Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner. Westburg is already on the 60-day injured list and will stay there for the rest of the campaign.
It’s a disappointing but unsurprising result. Westburg was diagnosed with a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament back in February. He and the O’s initially tried for a non-surgical approach, as he was given a platelet-rich plasma injection at that time. Earlier this month, some continued discomfort in his elbow led to him being shut down from throwing. Now it seems the surgical path could no longer be avoided.
Some observers may wonder why he didn’t just undergo surgery in the first place. Generally speaking, surgeries require long recovery timelines, so players and teams usually try to explore the alternatives first. The player often ends up going under the knife in the long run, but there are some cases where the alternate possibilities are effective, allowing the player to return sooner. In this case, perhaps Westburg had a path to helping the Orioles late in 2026 if all went well.
That best-case scenario won’t happen but the O’s likely haven’t lost anything by trying. UCL surgeries for pitchers often take a year or so to recover but position players can come back sooner than that. It’s possible Westburg could return for the start of 2027, which would have been the outcome if he had surgery back in February anyway.
Though the outcome isn’t shocking, it’s likely deflating for Westburg and the Orioles regardless, as injuries have become a big storyline in his career and the team’s season. For Westburg personally, he had a breakout season in 2024, though that was limited to 107 games by a hand fracture which put him on the shelf for over a month. In 2025, he made trips to the IL for a hamstring strain and an ankle sprain, only appearing in 85 games. Now he’s going to miss the entire 2026 campaign. While spending this year on the 60-day IL, Westburg will cross three years of service time and qualify for arbitration. He can be retained through 2029.
For the O’s, Westburg is one of 13 players currently on the IL. That includes five position players. In addition to Westburg, Jackson Holliday, Dylan Beavers, Ryan Mountcastle and Heston Kjerstad are on the shelf.
With no Westburg and no Holliday so far this year, Baltimore has had to go to backup plans on the infield. Gunnar Henderson has been at shortstop and Pete Alonso at first base but Westburg was the planned third baseman and Holliday supposed to be the second baseman. Coby Mayo has been the main guy at the hot corner this year but he has produced a dismal .174/.242/.321 line. Jeremiah Jackson has mostly covered second. His .238/.259/.400 line is better than Mayo’s but still subpar. Blaze Alexander has contributed at both spots but has hit just .244/.299/.289.
With all the injuries, the O’s have started slow, currently sporting a 20-24 record. Their season is still salvageable since so many other teams in the American League are also scuffling. That losing record is good enough for the club to be just a game and a half out of a playoff spot at the moment. They will try to stay in the race in the coming months but Westburg won’t be a part of the solution, so other guys will have to step up. The Orioles could look for infield help ahead of the trade deadline if the incumbent guys aren’t delivering.
Photo courtesy of John Jones, Imagn Images
