Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson Opens Up About Nagging Wrist Issue

Heading into the season, the expectation for the Baltimore Orioles was clear — get past the hump of losing and re-establish themselves as postseason contenders.

Instead, the season went the opposite way. Just days before the regular season came to an end, the Orioles saw themselves get eliminated from postseason contention, capping off what can be defined as a disappointing finish to the year. 

Baltimore’s season was defined by a variety of inconsistencies. Outside of slugger Pete Alonso thriving in his first season in Baltimore, not many positives came out of the season on the offensive end — which included a partial down season for shortstop Gunnar Henderson.

In his fifth major league season, Henderson’s numbers at the plate have taken a noticeable dip from his production in prior years, but there may be more to the reason why that is.

After the Orioles split a doubleheader against the New York Yankees on Friday, Henderson opened up about a right wrist issue he had been dealing with for about half of the season, something he had admitted in somewhat of a reluctant manner.

Henderson also noted that everybody plays through their own share of things, while not labeling the wrist issue as an excuse. He said that making adjustments to the knob of his bat helped him deal with the issue as it felt better for him.

“I really don't like making excuses because everybody's banged up at this point in the year,” Henderson said, according to Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun. 

The wrist issue is not something that Henderson will get an operation on, as he is just banged up and does not want to use that as an excuse for his season. 

Henderson just about played the full season for the Orioles. In 158 games this season, with just one game remaining on schedule, Henderson has posted a.226 batting average with a .715 OPS — both numbers being much lower than his prior averages in his first four seasons. Those numbers, his on-base percentage and slugging percentage are all on track to be career-lows, while he is inching closer to his career-high in at-bats in a season.

While it is difficult to put a definitive label on the reason for Henderson’s slight down season, it is definitely something for the Orioles to observe going forward. With a full offseason looming, that may be what Henderson needs heading into his sixth MLB season in 2027.