Baltimore Orioles Get Good First Rehab Appearance From Lefty John Means

The Baltimore Orioles, who enter play on Friday with the best record in the American League, got a good rehab report on lefty John Means, who hasn't pitched since early 2022.

The following comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

Means (elbow/back) allowed one hit while striking out two over two scoreless frames in his first rehab start with Double-A Bowie on Thursday.

ANALYSIS
Means required just 28 pitches to navigate through his two innings. The left-hander is about 16 months removed from Tommy John surgery and past the back injury which slowed his rehab. He will need multiple rehab outings as he builds back up, but Means is on track to rejoin the Orioles' rotation within the next few weeks.

His return will be a great story for Baltimore, but he also should be able to contribute to the team's success.

Through the lean years in Baltimore, Means was the ace of the staff, so getting him back could be a nice boost to either the rotation or the bullpen.

He won 12 games in an All-Star season in 2019, has thrown a no-hitter in his career and has 20 career victories. He owns a lifetime 3.81 ERA.

The O's will be locked in a big-time series with the Seattle Mariners this weekend. The M's have won seven straight games and are just 1.5 games back in the American League wild card picture.

First pitch on Friday night is set for 10:10 p.m. ET as Kyle Gibson (BAL) pitches against Luis Castillo (SEA).