The band is — almost — getting back together.
The Orioles activated infielders Jordan Westburg and Ramón Urías on Sunday, adding depth to their batting order after both regular starters missed significant chunks of time during the second half of the season. Westburg suffered a broken hand July 31, and Urías has dealt with a sprained ankle since the end of August.
They were immediately inserted into Baltimore’s starting lineup for the finale of a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers. They each tallied a hit as part of the Orioles’ fifth-inning rally attempt, Urías hitting a single and Westburg tacking on an RBI double.
“Both looked great,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Westy smokes that ball in the gap, makes a really nice play at second. Ramón swings the bat well all day. Great to have both those guys back.”
To make room for the pair, the Orioles optioned infielder Liván Soto and outfielder Daniel Johnson to Triple-A Norfolk.
Westburg is a key piece of Baltimore’s infield. He played nearly every day at second or third base before his injury, and he was hitting .269 with an .815 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. He homered Saturday in his third rehab outing.
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He credits his work on the injured list as one of the reasons he was able to jump back in. Westburg took grounders nearly every day, fielding with his good hand before he was cleared to use his right one.
“I want to be a ballplayer so, as soon as they cleared me to kind of get back to being one, I wanted to push myself as hard as I could,” Westburg said. “That’s kind of who I am. That’s who I pride myself on being, a hard worker. I was optimistic that I could get back, and I knew that, if I did get back, I wanted to be as ready as possible, so that’s all that was on my mind. I do think it’s helped. My legs feel good. I feel fresh. I know we have a lot of guys who played a lot this year. Hopefully, I can provide a little bit of a kick-start in the lineup for us and play with some energy.”
Urías also homered in a rehab game. Before spraining his ankle, Urías was hitting .252 with a .754 OPS.
The Orioles have struggled for much of the second half creating offense, and part of the downturn has coincided with the absences of multiple players, including Heston Kjerstad and Ryan Mountcastle. Kjerstad has since returned from his concussion, and Mountcastle (sprained wrist) is on a rehab assignment with Norfolk.
Since Aug. 1, the first day of Westburg’s absence, the Orioles have hit .230 as a team — the fifth-lowest average in the majors.
“We’re thrilled for a lot of reasons,” said Tony Mansolino, the Orioles’ infield coach. “They’re part of this. When we started the season in spring training, they’re part of that team. They’re part of the first-half team that won so many games, so any time you have those guys back, it’s a good feeling.”
This story was updated to reflect the final score of Sunday’s game in a photo caption.
