Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson will begin the season on the injured list, general manager Mike Elias announced Sunday.
Henderson, 23, has been out since sustaining a strained intercostal muscle Feb. 27 that knocked him out of Grapefruit League games.
He had returned to some baseball activities a week and a half ago but will no longer make his goal of being ready for Opening Day.
The Orioles have planned to be cautious in their approach based on Henderson’s history with abdominal muscle strains. He fought through left oblique discomfort the first three weeks of spring training last year.
The latest injury is different, Henderson said March 15, and has lingered more than previous issues.
“It’s definitely something we don’t want to linger into the season and throughout the season,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said recently. “You want to make sure that’s free and clear. He’s so important to us. We want to make sure he’s right and he’s not playing through any sort of injury or soreness the first part of the season.”
Henderson played 159 games and was a first-time All-Star in 2024 with 37 home runs, 31 doubles, 92 RBIs and an OPS of .893. He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2023.
He has batted .268 with 69 homers and 192 RBIs in 343 career games with Baltimore.
Field Level Media contributed to this report.
