The Baltimore Orioles may be only two games out of a wild-card spot in the American League, but they can't like their chances of gaining ground on the Texas Rangers or New York Yankees with J.J. Hardy out of action.
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Hardy Headed for 15-Day DL with Groin Injury
Sunday, Aug. 23
With the Orioles smack dab in the stretch run, there's no good time for Hardy to miss a couple of weeks, but he's banking on a break now ensuring his sore left groin will no longer be a problem for the remainder of the year.
According to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun, the 33-year-old shortstop will have an MRI Monday to determine the exact severity of the injury.
"I understand the position we are in," Hardy told Connolly. "I don't want to be having the same talk we just had. Is it going to be better tomorrow? Is it going to be better in two days? And keep dealing with that. I guess it's just the best thing for the team, and that's that. It sucks."
Hardy isn't exactly having a great year. He's batting .220 with seven home runs and 32 runs batted in. However, the issue for Baltimore is that it doesn't have a ready-made shortstop who can take his place in the lineup.
Ryan Flaherty will likely be the guy to take over for Hardy, but he has played shortstop 49 times in his four-year MLB career, per Baseball-Reference.com.
Hardy's injury doesn't preclude the Orioles from climbing to the top of the standings, but it won't make the climb any easier.
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