Oct 1, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) looks out from the dugout against the Kansas City Royals in game one of the Wild Card round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

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Gunnar Henderson Injury Update: Set to Start Season on IL, Orioles Hopeful for Short IL Stint

No Opening Day start for Gunnar Henderson!

The Baltimore Orioles will be without Gunnar Henderson to start the season, as the star shortstop is set to begin the year on the injured list, general manager Mike Elias confirmed on Sunday.

Henderson, 23, has been sidelined since February 27 after straining an intercostal muscle, which forced him to miss Grapefruit League action. Though he resumed some baseball activities about a week and a half ago, his recovery has not progressed quickly enough for him to be ready for Opening Day.

Mike Elias told reporters that Gunnar Henderson will begin the season on the injured list due to an intercostal strain pic.twitter.com/0lS2jZ5tTT
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 23, 2025

Given his history with abdominal strains, the Orioles are taking a cautious approach. Last spring, Henderson played through left oblique discomfort for the first few weeks of camp, and while this latest injury is unrelated, he admitted on March 15 that it has lingered longer than his previous issues.

Despite the setback, Baltimore remains optimistic that Henderson’s stint on the IL will be short.

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Henderson had a breakout 2024 campaign, playing 159 games and earning his first All-Star selection while launching 37 home runs, 31 doubles, and driving in 92 runs with an OPS of .893. The reigning American League Rookie of the Year in 2023, he has slashed .268 with 69 homers and 192 RBIs over his first 343 career games with the Orioles.

Gunnar Henderson

Orioles

Mohsin Baldiwala

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Mohsin Baldiwala is a Master’s student in Journalism and freelance content producer who got hooked on baseball through Seinfeld’s hapless George Costanza. The same reason why he’s a Yankees fan. He writes about sports because he believes it can offer a brief escape from the world’s chaos. Even if that means enduring the heartbreak of the 2024 World Series.