Orioles are seemingly feeling confident in Gunnar Henderson's return

The Baltimore Orioles have been playing without their star shortstop, Gunnar Henderson, over their first seven games of the season.

Henderson has been sidelined with an intercostal strain that has kept him out of play since Feb. 27 and cost him most of his spring training.

The Orioles have gone 3-4 in his absence, but it does sound like they're expecting to have him back by the start of their next series.

Baltimore will play on Friday night on the road against the Kansas City Royals, and Henderson is "probable" to play. This is according to manager Brandon Hyde, as relayed by ESPN.

Henderson was hoping to be ready by Opening Day but it apparently took him a little bit longer to heal up. The Orioles have indeed missed him, of course, and they've struggled a bit without their star shortstop.

They beat the breaks off the Toronto Blue Jays, 12-2, on Opening Day and won that series, 2-1, but they lost their series to the Boston Red Sox. The Orioles lost two-of-three after falling 8-4 on Thursday.

Henderson is the type of player who can swing a series with one literal swing of the bat. He hit .281 last season with 37 home runs, 92 RBI and 21 stolen bases. His slash line was .281/.364/.529 with a .893 OPS and a WAR of 9.1.

He'll absolutely be a welcome sight for the Orioles at shortstop on Friday.