SAN FRANCISCO — The Orioles placed right-handed reliever Darren O'Day on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a right rotator cuff strain, losing their most veteran late-inning arm for the second time this season.
O'Day received a cortisone injection in his shoulder and Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he believes O'Day should be ready to return when he's eligible to be activated on Aug. 27.
The move comes after O'Day flew back to Baltimore on Friday and was seen by team orthopedist Dr. Michael Jacobs on Saturday. O'Day complained of shoulder discomfort following a rocky outing Thursday in Oakland.
"I have a lot of confidence that we'll get it resolved in that period," Showalter said. "He was as sore [Saturday as he was Friday]. Said he felt better after the shot. Darren was pretty adamant about not going on the DL when we left Oakland [and] when he flew back, but today he had a little different feel for it, so we were waiting to see.
"It's like what we talked about when so much emotion and adrenaline goes on from that day, goes away that we'd get a better idea. When Darren doesn't fight it, [it means something]. He also doesn't want to leave our bullpen short. He knows it could be a challenge."
The Orioles recalled right-hander Tyler Wilson to fill O'Day's spot in the bullpen. Wilson joined the club Friday on the 24-hour taxi squad while the Orioles awaited word on O'Day.
O'Day struggled in recent outings, allowing five runs in 1 2/3 innings over his past three appearances. He lasted just one-third of an inning in two of those three outings, including his most recent appearance in Oakland on Thursday, when he let three of the four hitters he faced reach base and yielded two runs. His struggles forced Showalter to use closer Zach Britton in the ninth.
O'Day missed more than seven weeks with a slow-healing right hamstring strain, and again the Orioles bullpen will have to overcome an extended amount of time without him.
"We've already kind of done that and we'll continue to do it," Showalter said of having other relievers filling key roles in O'Day's absence. "That's who we are, and how we have to do it. ... There's three or four other guys that we've talked about. We're always looking from within. … Our starters have gotten longer into the games, which has kept us from having to pitch some innings that we've pitched a lot this year."
O'Day posted a 6.14 ERA in eight appearances following his return from the disabled list, even though his first five outings were scoreless.
After signing a four-year, $31 million contract in the offseason to remain with the Orioles, O'Day has a 3.95 ERA on the season, his highest since joining the club before the 2012 season and blossoming into one of the top setup men in the game. Over his five seasons with the Orioles, O'Day ranks sixth among major league relievers with a 2.11 ERA.
"Yeah, it's going to be tough," Britton said of overcoming O'Day's absence again. "We did it before. We just kind of have to get back to that mindset we had of kind of carrying the load a little bit more with some other guys. It's just an opportunity for another young guy to step up and do a good job."
O'Day had never missed any time because of shoulder problems since joining the Orioles. But he went on the DL late in the 2011 season with right shoulder inflammation while pitching with the Texas Rangers, missing 17 games from Aug. 25 through Sept. 13.
O'Day had never been on the DL with the Orioles before this season.
"I think he's really frustrated," Britton said. "He prides himself being a guy who's very consistent, durable and it's pretty unfortunate for him right now. But I know he's going to do everything he can to get back to us, hopefully, within that 15-day period. Hopefully, when that time's up he'll be ready to go."
The loss of O'Day comes as Showalter has been trying to give added rest to late-inning arms Brad Brach and Britton, both of whom had been used frequently during sparkling first halves that took both to the All-Star Game. It could also put rookie right-hander Mychal Givens, who has struggled against lefties, into more high-leverage situations late in games. Long reliever Vance Worley could also receive more late-inning appearances.
"Givey's thrown the ball well recently," Britton said. "[Wilson] did a great job for us before out of the bullpen. He's going to need to do it again. Myself and Brad just kind of continue doing what we've been doing, I think. It's just … it's going to be a group effort down there. It's not one individual guy. We have a lot of guys throwing well, and they're going to need to continue doing that, and some other guys that are going to maybe need to be in situations where they're not as comfortable yet."
While Britton has remained perfect on save chances the season, converting all 36 of his opportunities, Brach had a 5.14 ERA over his eight appearances before Saturday.
Wilson, who has been used to give the Orioles bullpen length, has made one major league appearance since the break, tossing four scoreless innings on July 26 against the Colorado Rockies. He was sent to Triple-A Norfolk in early July to get rest and be shortened up for the stretch run. He allowed just one earned run in 10 innings over his two starts for the Tides before his most recent call-up.
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