The start to Heston Kjerstad’s MLB career was stunted because of a lack of playing time and injuries. This season presented the best opportunity yet for Kjerstad to stick in the majors, but two months in, he’s back in Triple-A.

The Orioles on Tuesday optioned Kjerstad amid a flurry of roster moves as reinforcements continue to make their way back to Baltimore. The club activated stars Jordan Westburg and Cedric Mullins off the injured list, optioned Kjerstad back to the minors and designated Emmanuel Rivera for assignment. After posting a .746 OPS in limited playing time in his first two MLB seasons, Kjerstad hit .192 with a .566 OPS across 167 plate appearances this year before his demotion Tuesday. Tony Mansolino didn’t directly say that the decision was made for Kjerstad to have a reset in the minors, but the interim manager did note that the Orioles “set out a specific plan” for the 26-year-old down in Norfolk.

“What we didn’t want to do was just say, ‘Hey, go get ‘em.’ That’s obviously not the right message when a guy as talented as Hest struggles here,” Mansolino said ahead of the Orioles’ series opener against the Detroit Tigers at Camden Yards. “As good as this kid is (and) can be, there’s something that we’re missing, right?”

Mansolino said Kjerstad, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft, took the news well. “He understood,” the skipper said. The organization’s hope is that Kjerstad can make the necessary changes — Mansolino declined to say what specifically those are — and come back up to Baltimore later this season.

“He’ll go down with an open mind and he’ll do it,” Mansolino said. “We except to see him back at some point and be the guy we think we can be.”

While Kjerstad’s slump at the plate is the main reason for his demotion, his defense has also been a concern this season. Defense was never a standout part of the slugger’s profile, but he’s been one of the worst defensive outfielders in MLB this season with minus-7 outs above average, according to Statcast.

Mansolino said he still believes that Kjerstad can improve defensively.

“For a guy — I think Hest is 26 years old and still relatively inexperienced in the outfield in professional baseball — there’s absolutely a path forward for him there. He’s just got to kind of take it,” Mansolino said. While Kjerstad’s campaign has been a surprising disappointment for the Orioles, the returns of Westburg and Mullins are significant for a team attempting to claw back into playoff contention. A week into his new role, Mansolino described Westburg as “the glue to this whole thing.”

Westburg said that he was “itching” to get back on the field after missing about six weeks with a nagging hamstring injury he suffered in Detroit in late April. “I hate being on the IL,” he said.

Even before he landed on the IL, he was dealing with an unspecified upper body injury that appeared to be hampering his performance. Westburg was hitting .217 with a .657 OPS when he pulled his hamstring. In his All-Star 2024 season, the 26-year-old hit .264 with a .792 OPS and was consistently one of the toughest at-bats in Baltimore’s lineup.

“There’s no secret about it: I think I was kind of underperforming before I got injured, kind of searching for things offensively,” Westburg said. “I certainly didn’t figure it out, but I feel better than where I left off.”

In eight games during his minor league rehabilitation assignment, Westburg slashed .393/.452/.750 — good for a 1.202 OPS.

“I think I learned more about how to handle my body,” he said. “I’ve been dealing with some things all year. This gave me some time to kind of step back and kind of get all those things right, come back feeling more like myself physically.”

Baltimore’s downturn since last summer has coincided with Westburg’s injuries. Last year, the Orioles were 70-46 with Westburg healthy and 21-25 with him injured. Overall, since the start of 2024, the Orioles have played at a 91-win pace (for a 162-game season) with Westburg healthy and a 71-win pace without him.

“I think we saw last year, right, with kind of how things went in August and September without Westy,” Mansolino said in late May. “We’re excited to get him going here at some point, and when he does and he gets back, it’s going to be a nice pleasure to have him.”

Mullins, meanwhile, is Baltimore’s home run leader with 10 despite missing the past 10 days with a minor hamstring injury.

Hampered by injuries all season, the Orioles are finally starting to get healthy. Westburg and Mullins are the latest injured players to rejoin Baltimore after outfielder Ramón Laureano returned Friday and Colton Cowser did so last Tuesday. Catcher Gary Sánchez (wrist inflammation) and outfielder Tyler O’Neill (shoulder impingement) are both on minor league rehabilitation assignments and are expected to return later this month.

Mansolino said that it’s more likely they are back next week than during this homestand.

A difficult roster move still awaits when O’Neill returns. One of Coby Mayo, Dylan Carlson or Jorge Mateo would likely have to come off the roster when O’Neill is ready to come back.

“Whenever you got two guys who walk in like Jordan and Ced, you feel great,” Mansolino said. “At some point here in the next however many days, you’ll see Gary and you’ll see T.O. and we’ll feel even better. So, yeah, it feels good.”

Around the horn

n Mansolino said Ramón Urías is an option to play first base after Rivera was DFA’d. Urías has played 15 career games at first base and largely handled himself well at the unfamiliar position. He was taking grounders there pregame Friday.

n Outfielder Jordyn Adams cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to Triple-A on Tuesday, the Orioles announced. The 40-man roster has 38 players.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.