Orioles' Cowser to miss 6-8 weeks with thumb fracture

The Baltimore Orioles placed outfielder Colton Cowser on the injured list with a left thumb fracture, the team announced Monday.

He will miss a minimum of six-to-eight weeks, according to manager Brandon Hyde.

"It's a blow. Colton is a really good player," Hyde said.

Cowser got hurt doing a head-first slide into first base against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.

"Everybody in that room knows the risk you take when you go head first," Hyde said, according to The Baltimore Sun's Jacob Calvin Meyer.

"But it's also an instinctual baseball play ... He was trying to beat the guy to the bag. He was hustling. It was just kind of a freak, unfortunate thing."

Dylan Carlson will replace Cowser on the active roster. Carlson didn't make the Orioles' big-league roster after slashing .321/.500/.571 with two home runs, nine RBIs, and 12 walks during a solid spring showing.

Cowser is 2-for-16 to begin the campaign after an impressive debut season in which he finished second in 2024 Rookie of the Year voting.