TODAY: Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias confirmed that Westburg had Tommy John surgery on Wednesday (video from Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun). The goal is for Westburg to return as a full-time player in “early 2027,” though Elias admitted the timeline is unclear at this point.
May 15: Orioles player Jordan Westburg will undergo elbow surgery and miss the rest of the season, reports Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner. Westburg is already on the 60-day disabled list and will remain there for the rest of the campaign.
It’s a disappointing but not surprising result. Westburg was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in February. He and the O’s first tried the non-surgical approach, as they were given an injection of platelet-rich plasma at the time. Earlier this month, some continued to have elbow discomfort that led to him being banned from throwing. Now it seems that a surgical procedure could no longer be avoided.
Some observers may wonder why he didn’t just have surgery in the first place. In general, surgery requires long recovery times, so players and teams often try to explore other options first. A player usually ends up going under the knife in the long run, but there are certain situations where other opportunities work well, allowing the player to bounce back quickly. In this case, maybe Westburg has a way to help the Orioles late in 2026 if all goes well.
That best-case scenario won’t happen but the O’s may not have lost anything by trying. UCL surgery for pitchers usually takes a year or more to recover from but position players can return sooner than that. It’s possible that Westburg could return as early as 2027, which would be the result if he had another surgery in February.
While the result isn’t shocking, it’s likely to be a letdown for Westburg and the Orioles, even if injuries have become a major issue in his career and the team’s season. For Westburg personally, he had a breakout season in 2024, though that was cut to 107 games by a broken hand that put him on the shelf for more than a month. In 2025, he went to IL with a hamstring and ankle sprain, appearing in only 85 games. He will now miss the entire 2026 campaign. While we spend this year on IL for 60 days, Westburg will cross three years of service time and be eligible for compensation. He can be kept until 2029.
For the O’s, Westburg is one of 13 players currently in the IL. That includes five position players. Besides Westburg, Jackson Holiday, Dylan Beavers, Ryan Mountcastle again Heston Kjerstad they are on the shelf.
With no Westburg and no Holiday so far this year, Baltimore has had to resort to infield backups. Gunnar Henderson he was also at shortstop Pete Alonso at first but Westburg was the planned third baseman and Holliday should be the second baseman. Coby Mayo he’s been the go-to guy at the hot corner this year but has produced a poor .174/.242/.321 slash line. Jeremiah Jackson it took a lot the second time. His .238/.259/.400 line is better than Mayo’s but still below. Blaze Alexander he contributed in both areas but hit just .244/.299/.289.
With all the injuries, the O’s have gotten off to a slow start, currently posting a 20-24 record. Their season is still up for grabs as many other teams in the American League are also struggling. That win-loss record is good enough to keep the club just a game and a half out of a play-off spot for now. They will try to continue the race in the coming months but Westburg will not be part of the solution, the other guys will have to step up. The Orioles could look for in-house help before the trade deadline if the guys there don’t deliver.
Photo courtesy of John Jones, Imagn Images
