NEW YORK — For the first time in his major league career, Adley Rutschman is going on the injured list.

The Orioles placed their franchise catcher on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain Saturday and recalled fellow backstop Maverick Handley from Triple-A Norfolk.

Rutschman underwent an MRI on Saturday morning and the results were evidently concerning enough that the Orioles felt the need to put him on the shelf.

“He’s been super durable, especially for a catcher,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said in his pregame news conference before the MRI results came back. “So, unfortunately, if he does, if this is a thing, he’s going to go (on the IL) but hopefully it’s not too long.

“When you play in that type of a heat down in Tampa and you’re playing in this long stretch, and you’re in the middle of the season, it probably, possibly puts you at more risk for things like that. So, I have no idea why, what happened, happened to Adley but it’s something that, in my seat right now, you’re constantly trying to figure out and trying to mitigate a little bit.”

Rutschman, 27, felt tightness in his abdomen during batting practice Friday, prompting the Orioles to scratch him from the lineup ahead of their 5-3 win over the Yankees. The two-time All-Star has appeared in 92.7% of the Orioles’ games since making his MLB debut in 2022 and the club has managed his workload by having him start at designated hitter a couple of times a week.

His absence thrusts Gary Sánchez into an everyday role. The 32-year-old returned from the injured list June 14 and impressed at the plate, going 6-for-14 with two home runs and seven RBIs over his first four games back. Sánchez, who joined the club on a one-year, $8.5 million deal in free agency over the offseason, played behind the plate Saturday for the rare day-game-after-a-night-game consecutive starts and was the only Oriole to record a hit in a 9-0 loss.

Handley, 27, returns to the majors after being optioned to make room for Sánchez last week. The Stanford product hit .075 with two walks and 17 strikeouts during his first MLB stint, struggling at the plate but drawing praise for his game calling and defensive work.

Mansolino said that the Orioles haven’t discussed calling up top prospect Samuel Basallo, who is hitting .266 with 15 home runs and a .963 OPS with Norfolk this season. Basallo, 20, is the 16th overall prospect in MLB by Baseball America’s rankings but also the youngest player currently in Triple-A.

“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 Sammy Basallo and you bring him to the big leagues just because there’s a need. I think you bring Sammy Basallo to the big leagues when he’s 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.”

Westburg exits with finger injury: Not even two hours passed after the Orioles placed Rutschman on the injured list before another player got hurt.

Third baseman Jordan Westburg left Saturday’s 9-0 loss to the Yankees with a sprained left index finger after jamming his hand into the bag while stealing second in the top of the first inning. X-rays came back negative and Mansolino was optimistic that Westburg avoided a significant injury.

“Nothing imminent with him,” Mansolino said after the game. “We feel like probably in a few days, he’ll be OK, maybe earlier.”

Westburg, starting in the designated hitter spot, drew a walk against Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt — becoming one of only three batters to reach base over seven no-hit innings by the right-hander — and swiped second for his first steal of the year. He was wearing a sliding mitt on his left hand.

“I went in hard trying to steal a base, didn’t get my hand up,” Westburg said. “Surprised? Yeah. Kind of knew right away that something was weird because the sliding mitt was bent and (my finger) just got more stiff and stiff as the inning went on. I wanted to stay in there. There’s nothing that pains me more than coming off the field.”

Top infield prospect Coby Mayo pinch hit for Westburg his next time up in the third inning.

Westburg, 26, was playing in just his 11th game since returning from a six-week absence caused by a hamstring injury. He also missed 47 games with a fractured right hand — the opposite hand that he injured Saturday — last season and has appeared in 141 of the team’s 238 games (59%) since the start of 2024.

“Extremely frustrated,” Westburg said. “I feel like I work really hard to give myself the best opportunity to stay on the field and when something like this happens and really how the whole season has gone for me, just with little things and being on the IL, it sucks. All I want to do is get out on the field and compete. Like I said, I’m trying to stay optimistic as much as I can. But very, very frustrated, yeah.”

When healthy, he’s been one of the Orioles’ best hitters. He entered play Saturday slashing .256/.305/.470 with 25 home runs over the past two seasons.

Including Rutschman, the Orioles have placed 21 players on the injured list this season and currently have 10 players on the IL.

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