The Baltimore Orioles will be without their top starting pitcher for at least 15 days. The club placed Chris Tillman on the disabled list Wednesday, retroactive to August 21.
#Orioles officially place RHP Chris Tillman on the 15-day DL with right shoulder bursitis (retro to August 21).
— Dan Connolly (@danconnolly2016) August 24, 2016
While not surprising, this is a blow.
Tillman has been the best of Baltimore’s regular starters this season. In 26 starts, he’s amassed a 15-5 record over 153 innings with 126 strikeouts, a 3.76 ERA, and 1.268 WHIP.
This is a blow to an Orioles’ rotation that was already pretty shaky. Baltimore enters play on Wednesday with a 4.93 ERA, tied for 24th in the league.
Tillman will be replaced on the roster by Mike Wright and in the rotation by Ubaldo Jimenez.
Wright has split time between Triple A and the majors this year. He’s struggled in Baltimore, posting a 5.97 ERA and 1.471 WHIP. In the minors, though, Wright has been much better, recording a 3.17 ERA and 1.133 WHIP.
Jimenez has struggled in 2016 in 22 outings and 18 starts. He has a strong K/9 rate of 8.3, but has offset that with a dismal 5.9 BB/9 rate. As a result, Jimenez has a 6.94 ERA and 1.912 WHIP.