Samuel Basallo joins Adley Rutschman on Orioles’ 10-day injured list

BOSTON — The Orioles have perhaps the best catching duo in baseball. The problem? They are now both on the injured list.

Samuel Basallo joined Adley Rutschman on the 10-day injured list Wednesday, shortly before Baltimore opened a doubleheader against the Red Sox. Basallo’s injured list stint is retroactive to Monday and is officially listed as shoulder inflammation.

“With Rutsch and Basallo, pretty confident saying it’s the best catching tandem in the big leagues, and it’s tough to replace,” manager Craig Albernaz said between games Wednesday. But he expressed confidence in the way Sam Huff and Chadwick Tromp perform defensively and how they’ll work with the pitching staff.

On Tuesday, Basallo said he was optimistic he would avoid a stint on the injured list for nagging shoulder soreness. He departed Sunday’s game early and hasn’t appeared since.

And, before Wednesday’s games, Albernaz didn’t close the door on Basallo being available off the bench in the first game or starting in the second. But he didn’t sound optimistic about the possibility, and now Basallo is unavailable for the next week.

“If he does go and he has another messed-up swing or a throw, what’s that going to look like?” Albernaz said. “It’s going to be a TBD thing.”

It was determined Basallo couldn’t play, resulting in outfielder Johnathan Rodríguez being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk.

After the first game Wednesday, Albernaz said Basallo’s pregame batting practice session didn’t go as planned.

“It wasn’t like he was hurting, hurting," Albernaz said, before saying the injured list stint allows Basallo to “focus on getting his shoulder healthy, as opposed to getting healthy and also try every day to get ready to play.”

Rutschman is also out for the next week. He said his wrist inflammation, which forced him onto the 10-day injured list Monday, stems from a “weird swing” on Friday against the Houston Astros.

Rutschman played Saturday’s game as designated hitter but didn’t appear Sunday, then he wound up on the injured list for a third time this season the following day.

The development came only days after Rutschman played in his third All-Star Game, and it comes during a critical point of the season as the Orioles attempt to push into a playoff spot before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Rutschman is hitting .251 with a .764 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

“A lot of good, a lot of random stuff: concussion, ankle and this,” Rutschman said of his season thus far. “It’s been a fun year, but also it’s just frustrating to spend any time not playing.”

Rutschman has been on the injured list five times over the last two seasons, although his three stints this year are likely to be much shorter than his two in 2025, when he dealt with separate oblique injuries.

He spent much of the offseason working to ensure that soft-tissue injuries don’t occur again. Rutschman has avoided a recurrence of an oblique issue, but he has had some bad luck this year — especially when Mariners shortstop Colt Emerson’s throw hit him on the head and gave him a concussion.

“When you have a random weird thing with your ankle and now just kind of the small part of your wrist, and the concussion, that stuff is more out of your control,” he said. “It’s tough.”

Rutschman said he wasn’t sure what the recovery timeline for the wrist looked like, but he said he’s trending in the right direction.

Without Basallo and Rutschman, the Orioles are leaning on catchers Huff and Tromp. Huff has handled himself well on defense, which is the main concern for a catcher. He has only four hits in 32 plate appearances for the Orioles this year.

“You look at just the career trajectory of Huffy, obviously a high prospect guy, high prospect pedigree, but really known for the power and the bat,” Albernaz said. “But he really turned himself into a quality defensive catcher and someone who takes time and the care and effort to put the time in, knowing the pitchers.”

That was on display when Huff replaced Basallo midway through the game Sunday after being activated only that morning. Huff helped guide right-hander Brandon Young to a quality start on short notice.

This article has been updated.