BALTIMORE -- A day after his comeback attempt was halted for a second time, Mark Trumbo stood by his locker in the Orioles clubhouse at something of a crossroads.
While he remains hopeful he can return to play for Baltimore this season, Trumbo acknowledged Friday -- for the first time since undergoing right knee surgery last September -- that there is no guarantee. The slugger said he could consider retiring if the knee doesn’t improve by later this summer.
"I think you have to weigh the risks and the upside," Trumbo said. "We haven't quite gotten that far along yet, but sooner or later we're going to have to talk about it. You want to remain optimistic as long as you can until things just tell you that it's not in the cards.”
For now, Trumbo is keeping faith that the PRP shot he received Thursday helps to “provide some of the relief we’re looking for,” with an eye toward potentially embarking on another rehab assignment in the near future. Trumbo was shut down eight games into his last one due to a reoccurrence of soreness. It was his second setback while trying to return from surgery to repair a chondral defect. The injury is similar to the one Dustin Pedroia and Steven Wright have struggled to come back from in recent years.
"I've given it what I have so far, and there was just enough discomfort," he said. "The production wasn't really at a level that it's ready to go at the top. Some of the moves in the batter's box, swings weren't quite what we're looking for yet, and some of the stuff at first base was a bit much, so we're trying to do this in the right manner. I've tried to give it a shot a few times to play, but I think we're going to take a couple weeks and then re-evaluate things."
A two-time All-Star and former American League home run champion, Trumbo, 33, has hit .250/.302/.461 with 218 home runs over nine Major League seasons with the Angels, D-backs, Mariners and Orioles. He last appeared in the Majors on Aug. 19, 2018, and is in the final season of a three-year, $37.5 million contract.
"He’s frustrated,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “I give Mark so much credit. Mark has had a really good career. To try to come back after something like this, to try to push the envelope to try to get back on the field and play says a lot about him. He’s a high character guy and I wish he was in uniform. It’s just not the case right now.”
From the trainers' room
• Despite testing his sprained right ankle with on-field running drills Friday, outfielder DJ Stewart isn’t likely to join the club on its West Coast road trip next week, Hyde said. Stewart technically would be eligible to return from the injured list Monday, but the Orioles don’t expect him to hit that benchmark. More probable is Stewart requiring a rehab assignment, with an eye toward returning sometime later in the month.
• Hyde said Dwight Smith Jr. came out of on-field batting practice well on Thursday, his first since landing on the seven-day concussion list last week. Smith still needs to pass “a few more tests” before being medically cleared, but remains a candidate to return to action by the end of the weekend.
Worth noting
• As a corresponding move for Josh Rogers, who was recalled from Triple-A on Friday, the Orioles placed right-hander Josh Lucas on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder strain in his throwing arm. Lucas most recently threw 63 pitches over three innings in Thursday's 12-3 loss to the Blue Jays. The right-hander owns a 5.74 ERA over nine games this season.
• The Orioles said third baseman Hanser Alberto was removed from Friday's 13-2 loss to Boston due to illness. Alberto was lifted in the bottom of the fifth for Rio Ruiz, who played the rest of the game at third base. Alberto and Ruiz each went 0-for-2 in the matchup.