The opportunity to end the 2025 season on a high note will be given to Jordan Westburg.
On Tuesday afternoon, prior to their 8-7 victory over the White Sox at Rate Field, the Orioles activated 26-year-old Westburg from the 10-day disabled list. He had been sidelined since August 18th because of a sprained right ankle.
After just three games with Triple-A Norfolk during his rehab assignment, Westburg was cleared to return to the major leagues. He hit two home runs and drove in four runs in his final game with the Tides on Sunday.
Jordan Westburg was with the Orioles in Chicago for Monday’s series opener but wasn’t activated right away, as the team wanted to give him an extra day to ease back from injury.
Interim manager Tony Mansolino confirmed that Westburg would officially return Tuesday, serving as the designated hitter. As promised, Westburg was in the lineup batting cleanup as the DH.
Although he didn’t record a hit in his first game back, Westburg worked two walks and came around to score on Dylan Beavers’ seventh-inning home run. After his designated hitter role on Tuesday, he’s expected to shift back to third base for the next two games.
Jordan Westburg’s 2025 season has been stop-and-go because of injuries, limiting him to just 74 of Baltimore’s first 151 games. He first landed on the injured list on April 28 with a left hamstring strain and wasn’t back until June 10. Not long after, he missed additional time in late June and early July with an injury to his left index finger. This comes after a frustrating 2024 season, when a right hand fracture sidelined him for nearly the entire stretch run, allowing him to play only six games after August.
“He’s had some really unlucky breaks,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “Before he fractured his hand in Toronto right before the Trade Deadline last year, we looked at him as one of our most durable guys. But the last couple of years, it’s just been a series of unusual setbacks.”
The fact that Westburg has produced well while healthy and on the field this season just serves to exacerbate the frustration of all the time lost.
Westburg has 309 plate appearances and is slashing. 273/.327/.469 with 34 RBIs, 54 runs, and 15 home runs. In his first 73 games, he was almost a two-win player (1.9 fWAR), per FanGraphs.
After Tuesday, Westburg probably has just 11 games remaining in 2025, since the Orioles are all but out of the running for the playoffs. It is now hoped that he plays well, returns healthy at the end of the season, and is a vital member of a better Baltimore squad in 2026.
“We’ve missed him in a lot of ways this year,” Mansolino explained. “The complete package, both on and off the field….” I still believe he’s a very durable player in many aspects, and I’m looking forward to watching him play 140, 150 games in 2026.”