The Orioles arrive in Miami at 15-20, riding a 5-game losing streak in which every loss has come by 5 or more runs — reportedly the longest such streak in franchise history. They were just swept 4 straight by the Yankees, capped by a 12-1 thumping. Now they get Sandy Alcantara on a Tuesday afternoon. Tough scheduling.
Alcantara is 3-2 with a 3.04 ERA and looks largely back to pre-Tommy John form across 6 starts, with 4 quality starts and a 27:13 K:BB. The strikeout rate is down from his Cy Young peak, but the ground-ball, deep-into-games version is back. Chris Bassitt counters at 2-2 with a 5.46 ERA, though his last time out he turned in his first quality start of the year — 6.2 innings, 1 run, 7 K against Houston. He'll need that version, not the one that gave up 5 in 5.1 to Kansas City.
- Day-To-DayWill Robertson LF — The Orioles reassigned Robertson to minor-league camp Wednesday, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.
- Day-To-DayRichard Guasch SP
- Day-To-DayLuis Vazquez SS — Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said Monday that Vazquez has been diagnosed with a broken right thumb, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.
- Day-To-DayKeagan Gillies P — Gillies will be sidelined for at least six weeks with a quad injury, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILHeston Kjerstad LF — The Orioles announced Monday that Kjerstad (hamstring) will be re-evaluated soon to determine his readiness for a rehab assignment, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.
- 10-Day-ILJackson Holliday 2B — Holliday (hand) expects to resume his rehab assignment next week, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILTrevor Rogers SP — Rogers (illness) has rejoined the Orioles in Miami after doing some throwing at Camden Yards this past weekend, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.
- 15-Day-ILRyan Helsley RP — Helsley (elbow) could be cleared to resume a throwing program later this week, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.
- 10-Day-ILGriffin Conine LF — Conine will undergo a left hamstring tendon excision next week, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILPete Fairbanks RP — Fairbanks described the issue that forced him out of Monday's 5-4 loss to the Dodgers as numbness in his pitching hand, a potential recurrence of the nerve issue that sidelined him in April 2024 during his time with the Rays, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports. "Just a lot of diminished sensation," Fairbanks said after the game. "Felt like any movement of the wrist would exacerbate just loss of sensation in the index finger. So we'll see where it goes and how to work on it."
- 60-Day-ILAdam Mazur SP — The Marlins placed Mazur (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.
- 60-Day-ILRonny Henriquez RP — The Marlins placed Henriquez (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.
- OutJesus Tinoco RP — The Marlins re-signed Tinoco (elbow) to a minor-league contract Jan. 5.
The injury list is the bigger story for Baltimore. Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday, Ryan Mountcastle, Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer, Trevor Rogers, Felix Bautista — that's basically a full lineup and half a rotation in street clothes. Heston Kjerstad is at least getting close to a rehab assignment. Miami is mostly intact, though closer Pete Fairbanks is on the 15-day with a recurrence of the nerve issue in his pitching hand that wiped out part of his 2024.
The market reflects all of it. Marlins are -128 at Pinnacle, with DraftKings sharper at -136, and the spread sits at -1.5 with home-side money making up 87% of the spread handle. Total is 8.5 with both sides juiced. None of the EV numbers pop — every market is mildly negative — which usually means the line is doing its job. If you're chasing one, the under has slightly more public bets than handle, hinting at a small-bettor lean that the books are happy to take.
The honest read: Baltimore needs Bassitt to give them length, the bullpen to stop bleeding, and someone in the lineup to remember how to drive in a run. Miami needs Alcantara to do Alcantara things and the offense to scratch out a few off a struggling Bassitt. One of those to-do lists is shorter than the other.