Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado Diognosed With Right Knee Ligament Sprain

Baltimore Orioles young third baseman Manny Machado left Monday night’s game against the New York Yankees with an apparent knee injury. Machado already had surgery last October to repair a torn ligament, so to say the very least, this did not look good in the eyes of Orioles fans.

However, Machado has been diagnosed with just a ligament sprain rater then a tear, which although is not fantastic news, is pretty good news. Roch Kubatko of MASN was the first one to report the results of the MRI.

After slowly starting off the year coming back from his surgery, Machado has really emerged of late. His average was in the .210 range just two months ago and it is now at .278. He has also hit 12 home runs and 32 RBIs. His glove continues to be of the best in the league, with his Brooks Robinson-like glove and his cannon of an arm.

If Machado is to miss a few weeks (which might very well occur), then the Orioles would be forced to use an unorthodox lineup during his absence. First off, utility man Ryan Flaherty would most likely have to be an everyday player at either second base, third base or shortstop. Since J.J. Hardy will also be absent for what the Orioles hope is a short time, they will need to dig even deeper.

Perhaps we see Chris Davis getting some action at third base where he has played two times this year? It’s certainly a possibility. Late news is that Cord Phelps has his contract being purchased from AAA Norfolk.

Regardless of the situation, I’m sure I am not the only that is relieved to hear that Manny didn’t tear any legitimates and hopefully he will be strong enough to give the team a needed boost in the postseason.