ATLANTA -- 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 Sánchez on 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.
The O’s acquired catcher Alex Jackson from the Yankees in exchange for international bonus pool space and a player to be named or cash considerations. The 29-year-old then had his contract selected from Triple-A Norfolk and joined the team prior to its 2-1 finale win over the Braves on Sunday at Truist Park.
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.”
Jackson has five years of MLB experience, having previously played for the Braves (2019-21), Marlins (‘21), Brewers (‘22) and Rays (‘24). He is a career .132 hitter with a .456 OPS over 124 career games.
This year, Jackson was hitting .226 with seven doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 34 RBIs and a .772 OPS in 44 games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the Yankees’ system.
Stallings, who started behind the plate Sunday, recorded his first Orioles hit on Saturday, knocking a two-run double during the club’s game-winning three-run rally in the 10th. The 35-year-old has quickly earned praise for his reputation behind the dish, as he won a National League Gold Glove Award with the Pirates in 2021.
“Very good. He’s been in all the meetings, and so he’s getting fairly acquainted with us fairly quickly,” right-hander Dean Kremer said. “He went right into the fire and took it head on and did a great job.”
Baltimore’s pitchers will aim to continue building relationships with both Stallings and Jackson for however long each is on the roster.
“It’s drinking out of the fire hose is what it is,” Mansolino said. “I quickly directed [Jackson] to [pitching strategy coach] Ryan Klimek, [pitching coach] Drew French, [Major League development coach] Grant Anders, [assistant pitching coach] Mitch Plassmeyer, ‘Go get ‘em.’ It’s, ‘Here’s the fire hose, start drinking, figure this thing out.’ ... It’s a challenge to walk into a Major League game and catch a guy you’ve never caught before, let alone having to game plan to get a really good Major League hitter out.
“It doesn’t happen in one day. It’s something that they build upon day after day.”
As for the injured catchers, none of them are particularly close to returning. Rutschman is expected to be sidelined until after the All-Star break, while the O’s are being cautious with Handley due to his concussion history. Tromp is still sore and has not yet resumed baseball activities.
Many fans are clamoring to see 20-year-old catcher Samuel Basallo, the Orioles’ No. 1 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 11 overall. However, the team is sticking to its long-term plan of developing him at Triple-A Norfolk and not rushing him to the big leagues because of need.
David Bañuelos joined Baltimore’s medical taxi squad from Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday in case the club needed him if Jackson did not report on time.
Basallo has been raking for Norfolk (a .253/.372/.547 slash line with eight doubles, 16 homers and 38 RBIs in 57 games), but he’s still working on his defense and pitch-calling. The youngster has made only 31 starts behind the plate since reaching Triple-A late last season.
“I think, ultimately, he is so important that you don’t want to make a callup decision around a prospect that important because of an emergency if you can avoid it,” general manager Mike Elias told MLB.com on June 28. “We just want to bake in as much experience as possible.”