Ryan

Mountcastle

Mountcastle will be sidelined for at least the next two months after suffering a foot fracture over the weekend. The 29-year-old was mostly limited to a bench role with season with Pete Alonso taking over at first base in Baltimore and top prospect Samuel Basallo at DH.

Mountcastle has somehow managed to avoid hitting the injured list after suffered a broken toe over the weekend. The 29-year-old will remain on Baltimore’s bench for Monday’s series opener against the Diamondbacks but is highly unlikely to make an appearance.

Mountcastle suffered the injury Saturday while picking up the double. The 29-year-old will be placed on the injured list before Baltimore’s next game, and there’s a good chance he’ll need to miss significantly more than the minimum 10-day stint.

Mountcastle fell to his side after hitting a double, and he was unable to continue. The 29-year-old was only in because of Adley Rutschman’s ankle injury, and it appears Baltimore may have another player that won’t be available. The severity of Mountcastle’s injury should be made public soon.

Rutschman was set to hit third against Logan Webb and the Giants, but he’ll get at least a day off due to the ankle ailment. Samuel Basallo is now catching, and Ryan Mountcastle will be the designated hitter with Rutschman out.

Mountcastle finds himself in Baltimore’s lineup for just the second time this season with his lone start coming back on March 31. It’ll be Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers on the bench with Mountcastle and Tyler O’Neill getting an opportunity to face White Sox opener Grant Taylor, who has been excellent this season.

Basallo’s home run was a 375-foot shot off Andrew Painter that left the bat at 105.7 mph, and then he added a 108.7 mph double later in the game. The 21-year-old has acquitted himself well this spring, and with Coby Mayo now slated to start at third base until Jordan Westburg (elbow/oblique) returns, Basallo has a much clearer run at playing time. Ryan Mountcastle remains, and we don’t know when Westburg will return, but if Basallo hits early in the season, he could find himself starting against all right-handed pitchers.

It’s possible Mountcastle will undergo additional imaging to rule out anything signifiant but initial tests didn’t reveal anything serious. Orioles manager Craig Albernaz told reporters the 29-year-old first baseman is dealing with some soreness after being hit by a pitch during Wednesday’s spring contest. It doesn’t sound like he’s facing an extended absence. He’s going to have a reduced role during the regular season with Pete Alonso taking over at first base and former top prospect Coby Mayo looking like he’s going to make the club thanks to a strong spring performance.

No hard-hit balls for Mountcastle today, but everything was well placed. He’s 7-for-18 this spring as he battles for playing time between first base and DH. Pete Alonso will be at one of those spots pretty much every single day, so Mountcastle’s playing time will hinge on how often the Orioles want both Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo in the lineup.

This is an interesting deal now that Pete Alonso is in Baltimore. Mountcastle was limited to just 89 games in 2025, hitting .250 with seven home runs. However, he’s a .263/.312/.438 career hitter with 98 home runs in 652 games. If he were healthy and productive, a $7.5 million deal would be extremely good value for him. With Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo also battling for reps at 1B/DH, the added club option may make it a bit easier for the Orioles to trade Mountcastle should they decide that’s the path they want to go down.