Zach Britton Reinstated off 60-Day DL by Orioles After Arm Injury

The Baltimore Orioles reinstated closer Zach Britton from the 60-day disabled list after his long stint on the sidelines with a left forearm strain.

Britton, 29, has established himself as one of the finest closers in baseball in the past four years, accumulating 125 saves in 133 attempts since the start of the 2014 season.

Before his injury this year, he had five saves in as many opportunities with a 1.00 ERA and 1.78 WHIP. He didn't blow a save in 2016 and has converted 54 straight chances dating back to 2015, tying the American League record held by Tom Gordon.

With Britton back in the fold, the Orioles have one of the better bullpens in baseball. Brad Brach, who converted 15 of 19 saves while Britton was shelved, will return to his role as setup man. Add in Darren O'Day and Mychal Givens, and the Orioles are uniquely positioned to shut down opponents in the later innings.

That will be contingent on Britton's forearm issues being a thing of the past, of course.  It's unclear if Britton will immediately return to his closer role or if he'll be eased back into action, however.

"We know how we are going to do it," manager Buck Showalter said when asked if Britton would immediately close games upon returning, per Andrew Gruman of MLB.com. "It will be nice to get him back."

Indeed, with the Orioles just 40-43 and battling to re-enter the postseason picture, getting Britton back in the fold is immense.