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 plays a doubleheader against the Red Sox. Basallo’s injured list stint is retroactive to Monday.

On Tuesday, Basallo expressed optimism that 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, manager Craig Albernaz didn’t close the door on Basallo being available off the bench in the first game or start in the second game. But Albernaz 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.

Rutschman is also out for the next week of games. He said his wrist inflammation, which forced the Orioles catcher onto the 10-day injured list on 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 comes only days after Rutschman played in his third career 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 this year.

“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 two 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 dealt with 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 said he’s trending in the right direction.

Without Basallo and Rutschman, the Orioles are leaning on catchers Sam Huff and Chadwick Tromp. Huff has handled himself well defensively, which is the main concern for a catcher. He only has four hits in 30 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 only being activated that morning. Huff helped guide right-hander Brandon Young to a quality start on short notice.