The Baltimore Orioles have activated right-handed pitcher Chris Bassitt from the 60-day injured list, restoring a veteran presence to their rotation as the team continues its push in a competitive American League landscape.
The move, announced by the club on Friday, required only a corresponding roster adjustment: right-handed reliever Yaramil Hiraldo was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk to open a spot on the 26-man roster. Baltimore already had room available on its 40-man roster, streamlining the process.
Bassitt, who turns 38 later this year, had been sidelined since early June with a back problem that ultimately necessitated a procedure to address a bone spur in his lumbar spine.
After completing three minor-league rehabilitation starts in which he allowed three earned runs across 13 2/3 innings and recorded 12 strikeouts, the veteran is scheduled to start for the Orioles in the series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays. That assignment shifts Kyle Bradish to Saturday and Trevor Rogers to Sunday.
Signed last winter to a one-year contract worth $18.5 million, Bassitt entered the season with a well-earned reputation for durability and consistency.
Over the previous seven years, he ranked among the game’s most reliable starters, logging the sixth-most starts and seventh-most innings while maintaining a 3.60 ERA.
He never posted a full-season ERA worse than 4.16 during that stretch and earned All-Star recognition in 2021. Those credentials made him an appealing free-agent addition for a Baltimore club hoping to stabilize its pitching staff.
This season, however, has been more difficult. Before landing on the injured list, Bassitt made 12 appearances and carried a 5.27 ERA with a career-low strikeout rate. His walk rate remained relatively controlled, yet the overall results lagged behind his established standard.
Velocity on his sinker held steady near recent levels, but he generated fewer swings-and-misses and chase pitches than in prior years.
Some of the elevated ERA appears tied to an unusually high batting average on balls in play; his exit-velocity, barrel, and hard-hit metrics remain favorable, suggesting better outcomes may be forthcoming if the underlying contact quality continues.
Bassitt returns to an Orioles roster that looks different from the one he left. While the rotation core of Bradish, Rogers, Shane Baz, and Brandon Young remains intact, the organization traded several veterans before the deadline, most notably Adley Rutschman along with Taylor Ward, Tyler Wells, and Dean Kremer.
Those deals brought back prospects and reshaped the club’s competitive outlook. Baltimore sits five games under .500 but remains only two games out of the final wild-card position in a top-heavy league currently paced by the Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox.
A strong finish from Bassitt could provide both immediate value to a team still in the playoff conversation and a boost to his own standing as he prepares to reenter free agency this winter.
