NEW YORK — For the first time in his major league career, Adley Rutschman is headed to the injured list, the latest development in an injury-plagued season for the Orioles.

The catcher landed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a left oblique strain, the club announced. He underwent an MRI on Saturday morning after being scratched from the lineup Friday night, interim manager Tony Mansolino said.

Mansolino said Rutschman’s side “flared up” during batting practice before Friday night’s game.

“Hopefully it’s not too long,” Mansolino said before the move was announced. “When you play in that type of heat down in Tampa, and you’re playing this long stretch and you’re in the middle of the season, it probably puts you at more risk for things like that.”

Rutschman has performed better of late, after a slow start to the season. The former first overall pick is hitting .227 with a .691 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. However, since May 11, his average is .263 with a .776 OPS.

To replace the 27-year old on the active roster, the Orioles recalled catcher Maverick Handley. He was recently with the team when catcher Gary Sánchez spent time on the injured list, and he received commendations for his defensive work. Handley’s batting left much to be desired, however. He recorded three hits in 40 at-bats.

Rutschman is the 21st Orioles player to hit the injured list this season, and he’s one of 10 currently on it. Infielder Jordan Westburg might be a candidate for the injured list in the coming days, too, after he jammed his left index finger into second base when stealing.

X-rays were negative for a fracture, Westburg and Mansolino said, but the index finger is swollen. Perhaps if Westburg wasn’t wearing a sliding mitt the injury would have been worse.

“Kind of knew right away that something was weird because the sliding mitt was bent and just got more stiff and stiff as the inning went on,” Westburg said. “I wanted to stay in there. There’s nothing that pains me more than coming off the field. So it sucks. But, like I said, I’m just trying to stay optimistic and hopefully be back very soon.”

Baltimore has dealt with pervasive injury issues, although Rutschman has largely avoided them in his career. He played in 154 and 148 games in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Baltimore has managed his workload behind the plate, however. He caught 110 games in 2023 and 103 in 2024.

It appeared as though Rutschman might head to the injured list in late May after he took a foul ball off the mask. He missed two games.

Whenever an Orioles catcher misses time, eyes turn toward Samuel Basallo, who is demolishing the baseball for Triple-A Norfolk. Basallo, 20, has a .963 OPS for the Tides with 15 homers. But Mansolino said the Orioles haven’t discussed the top prospect as a replacement for Rutschman.

Perhaps part of that is because Basallo has caught only 15 games this season.

“As a development guy, what I would love to see is him absolutely knock the door down,” Mansolino said. “I don’t think you take a guy like Samuel Basallo and you bring him to the big leagues just because there’s a need. I think you bring Samuel Basallo to the big leagues when he’s absolutely destroyed Triple-A in all facets of the game — his at-bats, his defense, everything. So, when he destroys Triple-A and he knocks the door down, to me, then he becomes part of the conversation. I don’t personally think you bring a guy to the big leagues with that type of profile until that happens.”

It remains to be seen how serious the oblique injury is for Rutschman, although he will miss at least 10 days. Should it result in an extended stay on the injured list, Basallo could become more of a replacement candidate.

With high-ranking prospects, general manager Mike Elias generally preaches a philosophy of avoiding a situation in which a demotion might be required. That hasn’t always worked out, of course. Baltimore has demoted several prospects, including Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo, after early-career struggles.

This article has been updated.