Orioles shortstop Richie Martin and left-handed Ty blach Both will undergo surgery on Wednesday, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters on Monday (Twitter links via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). Martin will undergo wrist surgery after suffering a fracture over the weekend, while Blach will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his elbow. Martin is expected to be out for two to three months, which eliminates him as an option for the team in 2020. Blach will likely be out until the end of next season at least, as recovery from Tommy John surgery generally takes between 12 and 14 months.
25-year-old Martin was the top pick in the 2018 Rule 5 Draft, and the Orioles drove the former first-round athletics athlete throughout the season despite his struggles against MLB pitching. Martin saw action in 120 games, but only recorded 309 plate appearances, making for a disappointing .208 / .260 / .322 batting line against major league opponents. Martin had never played a game at Triple-A level when Baltimore selected him, but he had posted an encouraging .300 / .368 / .439 cut in a pitcher-friendly Double-A setup in 2018.
The O’s surely hoped to have some time in Triple-A now that they could send him there after spending his Rule 5 season, but the prolonged closure and cancellation of the 2020 minor league season made it impossible. Now, Martin won’t even get reps at MLB level or at an alternative camp during this summer’s shortened season.
As for Blach, the former Giants left-hander had hoped to break the list as a rotation candidate or long relay, but now he can’t pitch another pitch like Oriole. Blach struggled in 20 2/3 frames with the O’s in 2019 and was removed from the list, but Baltimore liked it enough to bring him back to a minor league deal. That deal will run out at the end of the season, and Blach will look for a new club next summer or in the offseason 2021-22, depending on his recovery process.
Blach, 29, was a solid piece for the 2016-18 Giants, racking up 299 1/3 innings with a 4.36 ERA over the course of 85 appearances (39 of them starting). Blach does not shoot particularly hard (90.1 mph average fastball) or lose many bats (4.9 K / 9 run), but has been successful in the past due to strong control (2.7 BB / 9 before ’19) and his ability to keep the ball on the ground (50.1 percent).
