Shane Baz leaves Orioles start after liner strikes right arm

Baltimore OriolesBaltimore OriolesUnited States right-hander Shane Baz left Tuesday's start against the New York Mets after a line drive struck him on the right arm. The ball was measured at 105.1 mph off the bat, and Baz did not continue in the game. The Orioles have not said how serious the injury is.

The line drive that struck Baz is reported to have come off Bo Bichette's bat. The sequence around it — the inning, the count, the pitch and the readings that followed — has not been described, and neither club has released a fuller account of what happened.

Season

Why the throwing arm matters

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Baz is a right-handed pitcher, which makes the right arm the arm he throws with. A ball arriving at 105.1 mph leaves a pitcher almost no time to react, and contact on that arm puts the elbow, forearm and wrist at risk. The point of impact on the arm has not been specified.

No statement from the Orioles

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The club has not published a diagnosis. It has not said whether Baz was examined on the field, whether he underwent imaging, or what those tests showed. There is no announced timetable for a return, no word on an injured-list move, and no indication of when he will pitch again.

The Mets have not commented on the incident either. Neither club has offered its own account of the sequence that removed Baz from the game, and no medical update has been scheduled publicly.

What an absence would mean for Baltimore

Any missed time would leave a gap in the Orioles' rotation. Filling it would mean a choice between a bullpen game, a call-up or moving another starter up a day, and the club has given no signal about which way it is leaning. A short absence costs one turn through the rotation; a longer one would force a wider adjustment to the staff.

What happens next

The immediate next step is an assessment of the arm. What that shows will determine whether Baz is cleared to keep pitching or is stood down. The Orioles have not said when he will be evaluated, who will carry out the assessment, or when an update will come.

For now, the removal itself is the only settled part of the story. A prognosis, a recovery window and any roster move remain unannounced, and the club's next public word on Baz's condition is still to come.