Orioles’ Jordan Westburg exits with hip injury after collision with Yankees’ Juan Soto; Aaron Judge leaves after hit-by-pitch
NEW YORK — For the second time this season, New York Yankees superstar Juan Soto was called for interference on the basepaths. Tuesday night against the Orioles, it resulted in the injury of one of Baltimore’s best players.
Third baseman Jordan Westburg exited the pivotal American League East matchup in the second inning after colliding with Soto while fielding a ground ball in the bottom of the first. The Orioles said Westburg was removed from the game with left hip discomfort. Manager Brandon Hyde substituted Ramón Urías for Westburg at third when the Orioles’ defense took the field in the second.
It’s unclear how severe Westburg’s injury is. Hyde is scheduled to address the media after the game between the top two teams in the division. The Yankees (50-24) entered Tuesday leading the Orioles (47-24) by 1 1/2 games.
Jordan Westburg exited Baltimore’s game vs. the Yankees tonight with left hip discomfort, the Orioles said.
Westburg appeared to injure his hip on this play in the first inning when Juan Soto committed an interference on the basepaths. pic.twitter.com/SiaEEhohEJ
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) June 18, 2024
By FanGraphs’ version of wins above replacement, Westburg is the Orioles’ second most valuable player at 2.3 WAR, ahead of Adley Rutschman (2.2) and behind Gunnar Henderson (4.7).
The 25-year-old Westburg is enjoying a breakout sophomore campaign and on Monday was revealed to be in second place in the AL’s fan voting for the All-Star Game. Westburg is behind Cleveland Guardians star José Ramírez by more than 400,000 votes at one of MLB’s most competitive positions, as the AL has several star third basemen. Westburg’s 2.3 WAR is second among AL third basemen, behind Ramírez (2.4) and ahead of Boston Red Sox star Rafael Devers.
In 66 games entering Tuesday’s series opener, Westburg was hitting .278 with an .836 OPS that ranks second on the Orioles. With 11 home runs, he’s one of five Baltimore batters to hit 10 or more.
Soto was on second base when Giancarlo Stanton hit a slow chopper toward Westburg. The Orioles infielder charged the ball and Soto made a feeble attempt to avoid him, colliding with Westburg’s left leg as he fielded the grounder. Soto was called for interference and Stanton was called out, even though he beat Westburg’s throw to first.
In late May, Soto was called for a bizarre interference against the Los Angeles Angels when he didn’t avoid a fielder attempting to catch a popup.
Juan Soto was called for out interference on this infield fly rule play and Aaron Boone was ejected pic.twitter.com/yIlBVB6gZC
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 30, 2024
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge also exited the game after he was hit on his left hand by a 94.1 mph fastball from Orioles starter Albert Suárez. Judge attempted to stay in the game, but he was removed for pinch-hitter Trent Grisham in the fourth.
If the Orioles need to place Westburg on the injured list, they have several options in Triple-A. Corner infielder Coby Mayo, who Baseball America ranks as the Orioles’ No. 2 prospect, rejoined the Norfolk Tides on Tuesday after spending the past month on the IL with a fractured rib. Second baseman-corner outfielder Connor Norby, who made his MLB debut earlier this month but was optioned back down after Jorge Mateo’s return, was removed from the Tides’ game Tuesday shortly after Westburg was injured.
This story will be updated.