SARASOTA, Fla. — Orioles manager Craig Albernaz provided an update on injured infielder Jordan Westburg on Thursday morning, stating that the 27-year-old — who has been slowed by a tweaked right oblique early in Spring Training — is currently “‘physically unable to participate” in workouts.
“Right now, he’s physically unable to participate,” Albernaz said. “He’s getting evaluated by a medical team, and also outside people, to make sure we have a plan in place and see what’s going on with Jordan and get him going.”
Asked if Westburg’s oblique is still the primary issue or whether he has another ailment to a different body part, Albernaz did not state the specific concern.
“Just physically unable to go,” Albernaz said.
On the first day of Spring Training workouts on Feb. 11, president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Westburg tweaked his right oblique in January, though the 2024 All-Star had appeared to have turned a corner in his recovery. Elias said he expected Westburg to miss the first few Grapefruit League games of the spring, but he did not believe Westburg’s Opening Day status was in jeopardy.
On Thursday, Albernaz was asked whether Westburg’s injury situation is worse than originally believed.
“Just want to make sure that we’re doing our due diligence and make sure Jordan is in the best chance to play this year,” Albernaz said.
Westburg attended the Orioles’ photo day on Wednesday morning, though he was not seen participating in any drills or workouts later in the day. He was previously running and participating in agility work last week.
During the first three seasons of his MLB career, Westburg has been one of Baltimore’s top players when healthy. He has hit .264 with 38 home runs and a .768 OPS over 260 games.
However, Westburg has had trouble staying on the field. He played a career-high 107 games in 2024, though he missed nearly two months due to a right hand fracture.
Westburg played only 85 games last season because of two stints on the injured list for a left hamstring strain (April 27-June 10) and a right ankle sprain (Aug. 19-Sept. 16). He was slowed last year in Spring Training due to a back issue, and he also dealt with a left index finger injury during the regular season.
“For me personally, it’s disappointing,” Westburg said then. “It felt like when I was on the field [last year], I played pretty well. The struggle was staying on the field. So my biggest takeaway going into the offseason was kind of like, ‘What can I do in preparation to try to put together a full season?’ Worked really hard this year with a physical therapist to get my body feeling about as good as I have my whole career. …
“I felt like I was doing everything right, and here we are again.”
