BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle has suffered a torn oblique during his recovery from an earlier left foot fracture and might not return this season, team president Mike Elias said on Friday.
Meanwhile, closer Félix Bautista is nearing a return this season, Elias said.
The 29-year-old Mountcastle has only played in eight games in 2026 for a team that entered Friday at 53-56 and 2 1/2 games out of the final AL wild-card spot. He was preparing to play in a rehab game Tuesday when he sustained the injury, Elias said.
“It’s going to be a couple of months,” Elias said of Mountcastle, who has a career slash line of .263/.312/.438 and 98 home runs in 660 career games, all with Baltimore. “We hope to get him back as soon as we’re able to. And hopefully that’s in 2026. But it’s a tough restart for Ryan.”
Bautista, 31, was a 2023 All-Star, missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery, then was shut down in July 2025 and underwent a second surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff in August 2025.
He has 67 saves and a 2.01 ERA in 156 career relief outings for the Orioles. He is rehabbing at the team's complex in Sarasota, Florida.
“He’s throwing live batting practices this week, meaning he’s facing hitters in Sarasota,” Elias said. “And from all that I’m hearing, he’s looking really good. So fingers crossed and kudos to him. He’s not back yet, but it’s going really, really well.”
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FILE - Baltimore Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle plays during a spring training baseball game, Feb. 27, 2026, in Bradenton, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners placed third baseman J.P. Crawford on the 10-day injured list with left wrist inflammation and recalled infielder Leo Rivas from Triple-A Tacoma before Friday night’s series opener against the Minnesota Twins.
The move is retroactive to July 30. Weston Wilson will start in place of Crawford at third base on Friday.
Crawford, 31, injured his wrist while swinging. He won’t do any baseball-related activity for three to five days, and will receive an injection in his wrist, according to general manager Justin Hollander.
“I would anticipate he’s a couple weeks down,” Hollander said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a month or anything like that.”
It will be Crawford’s third stint on the injured list. He began the season on the 10-day injured list due to a right shoulder injury, and went back on the injured list in June with a right hand contusion.
Crawford is hitting .212 with 30 RBIs in 87 games, and his 10 home runs are the third-most of his career.
Rivas, 28, is hitting .131 in 38 games with the Mariners this season. He has appeared in 13 games with Tacoma this season, hitting. 186 with two home runs and a .732 OPS.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Seattle Mariners third baseman J.P. Crawford makes the throw to first base for the out against San Francisco Giants' Heliot Ramos during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, July 19, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Mariners' J.P. Crawford follows through on a sacrifice fly that scored Josh Naylor in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
