Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy is expected to miss four to eight weeks due to a hairline fracture in his right foot, MASN’s Roch Kubatko reports. Hardy suffered the injury fouling a ball off of his foot in the fourth inning of Sunday’s game against the White Sox.
The Orioles have some options when it comes to replacing Hardy. Third baseman Manny Machado could move to shortstop, his natural position, and Ryan Flaherty would cover third base. Paul Janish is another option, but he’ll be leaving Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday for the birth of his child. As Kubatko notes, both Pedro Alvarez and Chris Davis could also play third base in a pinch.
Hardy, 33, is batting .244/.291/.410 with a pair of home runs and eight RBI over 86 plate appearances to begin the season. That’s markedly better than the meager .219/.253/.311 line he put up last year.