ATLANTA — No team in baseball has been hit harder by injuries at the catcher position this season than the Orioles.
They placed Gary Sánchez on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a moderate right PCL sprain in his knee, making him their fourth catcher to land on the shelf since June 21. The club acquired fellow backstop Alex Jackson in a trade with the New York Yankees for international bonus pool money and either a player to be named later or cash.
“No timeline yet,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said of Sánchez. “He will, this weekend, get with our doctors and we’ll kind of get a plan and have more information on a timeline.”
Baltimore also moved utility player Jorge Mateo, sidelined with a significant hamstring strain, to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man roster.
Sánchez, 32, joined Adley Rutschman (oblique), Maverick Handley (concussion) and Chadwick Tromp (back) on the IL, giving the Orioles one-third of the 12 catchers currently on the injured list across MLB. They will now play the Braves on Sunday with a catching tandem of Jackson and Jacob Stallings, the latter of whom joined the team Tuesday.
The Orioles also added David Bañuelos to their medical taxi squad, leaving top prospect Samuel Basallo as their only active catcher at Triple-A Norfolk.
Neither Tromp nor Handley has resumed baseball activities, leaving the Orioles with Jackson and Stallings for at least the next few days. Stallings replaced Sánchez off the bench Saturday after the latter injured his knee on a play at home plate in the fourth inning. He then came through with a clutch two-run double to help them beat Atlanta, 7-6, in extra innings.
Jackson, 29, has appeared in 124 big league games over parts of five seasons. He was with the Yankees on a minor league deal, hitting .226 with 10 home runs and a .772 OPS for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Around the horn
• Orioles right-hander Seranthony Domínguez “slept funny” on his back and was unavailable out of their bullpen the past two games, Mansolino said. The skipper is hopeful that he’ll be able to pitch in Sunday’s series finale if needed.
• Baltimore laid out its pitching plans for its upcoming series against the New York Mets. Brandon Young will start the opener Tuesday followed by Tomoyuki Sugano and Charlie Morton.
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