Orioles’ Danny Coulombe ‘optimistic’ his elbow injury isn’t serious, but his absence in bullpen is significant

Danny Coulombe is a human after all.

“Yeah, I mean, we’re human beings. There’s always a fear element,” the journeyman reliever said about his elbow injury.

But, despite every pitcher’s omnipresent concern for the health of their arm, Coulombe is hopeful his setback isn’t serious.

“We’re still gathering information,” the Orioles left-hander said before Wednesday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves. “But we’re pretty optimistic about it.”

Coulombe, who was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with elbow inflammation, hasn’t just been perhaps the most effective and consistent reliever in Baltimore’s bullpen this season — he’s been one of the best left-handed relievers in the major leagues.

The 34-year-old has recorded a 2.42 ERA in 26 innings with 28 strikeouts and only three walks. His 0.615 WHIP ranks first among relievers with at least 20 innings, while his strikeout-to-walk rate is third. In his 10th big league season with his fourth organization, Coulombe was putting up an under-the-radar All-Star-worthy campaign. But, for now, that’s been halted because of his elbow injury.

After his two-inning outing Saturday, Coulombe said he still felt “residual soreness” two days later, more than the traditional soreness every pitcher feels. In fact, it’s unlike any soreness he’s had in his life as a pitcher.

“This was something new,” he said, adding the club is still waiting for imaging results. “I’ve never had [soreness] in the area that it’s sore, never anything in that area.”

While Coulombe didn’t specify what area of his elbow he was referring to, it’s fair to assume it’s not in the area where the dreaded ulnar collateral ligament is. In 2011 as a college pitcher at Texas Tech, Coulombe tore his UCL and underwent Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery to repair it.

“Like I said, though, we’re pretty optimistic about it that it’s not the one you guys are thinking about,” he said, referring to the surgery that results in a 12-to-18 month recovery.

The Orioles have already lost two pitchers to season-ending elbow injuries this season: left-hander John Means, who underwent his second Tommy John surgery last week, and Tyler Wells, who is expected to undergo surgery on his UCL soon.

In 2023, only seven Orioles pitchers spent time on the IL as the club ended the season with the fifth-fewest IL days in MLB — a significant factor in Baltimore’s success. About two-fifths through the 2024 campaign, the Orioles have already had seven pitchers land on the IL: Kyle Bradish, Cionel Pérez, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Coulombe, Wells and Means. Despite those health issues, the Orioles enter Wednesday night’s contest with a 3.10 ERA that ranks third best in the majors.

Manager Brandon Hyde said one of the few downsides of winning as much as the Orioles (44-22) are — on pace for 108 wins — is potentially overusing the best relievers in the bullpen. While Coulombe doesn’t rank near the top of the games pitched leaderboard, Yennier Cano and Jacob Webb do. Cano entered Wednesday tied for the MLB lead with 34 appearances — more than half of Baltimore’s games — while Webb has pitched 32 times.

Coulombe has appeared in 29 games, although that doesn’t include the times he’s warmed up in the bullpen without entering to pitch. The southpaw went a season-high two innings and threw 30 pitches in Saturday’s win over the Rays. He showed no signs of fatigue, retiring all six batters he faced, including striking out the side in his final frame.

“It’s hard,” Hyde said, “because when you’re winning games like we’ve won and you have 40-something wins in 60-something games you are, more times than not, pitching in a high-leverage spot and you are pitching in stressful situations. It’s a lot easier to pitch down 6-2 than it is 6-4 with two runners on. Knock on wood, we keep playing these types of games, appearances are going to be up for a lot of these guys. … I look at appearances and I look at games pitched and I look at days off and stressful innings and all those things — and then you have to try go win the game, too. It’s a tough balance. But when you win, you’re pitching more often out of the bullpen than when you’re losing.”

The Orioles recalled right-hander Bryan Baker, a significant piece of the club’s bullpen in 2022 and 2023. But given Coulombe was a lefty, his work will likely fall onto less-consistent southpaws Pérez (3.57 ERA) and Keegan Akin (3.73 ERA).

With few of their relievers possessing minor league options, the Orioles have less flexibility and have mostly stuck with the same bullpen group this season. It’s rewarded them by performing like one of the sport’s best with a 3.24 ERA that ranks fourth in the majors. Over its past nine games, the Orioles’ bullpen hasn’t allowed an earned run in 25 2/3 innings.

“Knock on wood, we’ve thrown the ball so well out of the bullpen,” Hyde said. “I think they’re kind of feeding off each other a little bit. I think we’re talented down there, too. We’ve got guys that have different strengths and try to match up as well as we can.

“I think we’re doing a great job down there. We’re limiting walks — that’s huge. We play really good defense on most nights. And I think our guys are pitching with confidence.”