The Orioles reinstated their fifth player from the injured list in two weeks Saturday, activating catcher Gary Sánchez and optioning Maverick Handley to Triple-A Norfolk.
Sánchez, 32, has been sidelined with right wrist inflammation since April 27. The veteran backstop, who signed a one-year deal for $8.5 million with the club this past offseason, hit .100 with zero home runs in 12 games before landing on the IL.
“I feel a lot better now than I did in April, when I was trying to battle through it,” Sánchez said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “Just going to go out there now and battle and I’m feeling much better.”
Sánchez played seven games on a rehabilitation assignment with Norfolk and went 3-for-30 with a walk and 12 strikeouts.
Baltimore will look to the pain-free Sánchez to provide a lift for its offense, which has struggled in particular against left-handed pitching this season. Sánchez has a .773 career OPS when facing southpaws, compared with the Orioles’ team-wide mark of .557 — worst in MLB so far in 2025.
Lining up against Los Angeles Angels lefty Tyler Anderson on Saturday, the Orioles slotted Sánchez seventh in the batting order at designated hitter.
“We’ve seen this guy hit so many big home runs and postseasons and pennant races,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “This is a really good major league player. He’s really good. We’re excited to kind of get him healthy and see the guy that we were planning [for] when he got signed.”
Handley, 27, returns to Triple-A after making his first career MLB stint. The 2019 sixth-round draft pick out of Stanford hit .075 with three RBIs but earned strong reviews for his game-calling and management of the pitching staff. He started behind the plate for Charlie Morton each of his past four starts and the right-handed posted a 2.70 ERA.
“When I first came up here, I didn’t really know how long I was going to be up here,” Handley said Friday. “I was pretty over the moon to just be here. A couple of weeks later, I’m still here and getting some playing time. I’m learning some stuff. I’m seeing pitches I’ve never seen before. Seeing other big league hitters, how they hit in the box, and that feel behind the dish.
“I feel great defensively. I have some room to improve offensively. I have some strides and some goals to do on how to do that now, which is great.”
With top prospect Samuel Basallo, 20, making a strong case for a call-up in the near future with a .971 OPS and 14 home runs in 42 games at Triple-A this season, Handley faces an uncertain path back to the majors down the road.
“He can absolutely run a game,” Mansolino said. “Just talking with the pitching department, talking with [bench coach Robinson] Chirinos, who’s our catching coach, they really like how he thinks through the game. … I’m really excited about him. I think he’s going to carve himself a nice little niche in the big leagues here in the future.”
Have a news tip? Contact Matt Weyrich at mweyrich@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/ByMattWeyrich and instagram.com/bymattweyrich.
