It’s been an unbelievably unlucky two-plus weeks for Orioles catchers, and the misfortune continued over the weekend in Atlanta.
On Sunday, Baltimore placed Gary Sánchezon the 10-day injured list due to a PCL sprain he sustained in his right knee during Saturday’s 9-6, 10-inning win over the Braves. The 32-year-old is expected to miss 8-10 weeks, per interim manager Tony Mansolino, who said the catcher met with doctors upon returning to Baltimore this week.
Sánchez became the fourth O’s catcher to hit the IL, with each doing so since June 21 — Adley Rutschman (left oblique strain) on June 21, Maverick Handley (concussion) on June 23 and Chadwick Tromp (lower back strain) on Tuesday.
Jackson will pair with Jacob Stallings — who signed a Minor League deal on June 24 and was called up from Triple-A on Tuesday — to serve as the Orioles’ catching duo for the time being.
That’s two backstops who weren’t in the organization less than two weeks ago.
“We’ve got good people here. Those are good catchers,” Mansolino said. “If you’re going to bring in somebody that has the ability to quickly catch up, it’s a guy like Jacob. And then, obviously, Alex Jackson’s got a lot of time in the big leagues now with multiple teams.”