Baltimore Orioles All-Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson departed Thursday’s 11-8 spring-training victory over the Toronto Blue Jays after the first inning with what the team termed “lower right side discomfort.”
Henderson made a leaping catch in the top of the first inning and apparently felt soreness after hitting the ground. He grounded out to first in the bottom of the inning and then exited the game.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Henderson was removed for “precautionary reasons,” and that are no plans for an MRI exam.
“It’s the first inning of a spring training game in February,” Hyde told reporters. “We felt the best thing to do was to let him go inside, look at it, relax. We’ll continue to monitor and see how he is tomorrow.”
Henderson dealt with a left oblique injury during spring training in 2024 but recovered in time for the start of the regular season.
Henderson, 23, finished fourth in American League MVP balloting last season when he established career highs of a .281 average, 37 home runs, 92 RBIs, 118 runs and 21 steals in 159 games while earning his first All-Star nod.
One season earlier, Henderson won AL Rookie of the Year honors when he batted .255 with 28 homers and 82 RBIs in 150 games.
Baltimore remains without the services of All-Star third baseman Jordan Westburg (back), who is expected to return to the lineup in a few days.
