Orioles place closer Zach Britton on disabled list with left forearm strain

A left forearm injury has landed the lockdown closer on the 10-day disabled list

The Orioles on Sunday placed lockdown closer Zach Britton on the 10-day disabled list with a strained left forearm. To take Britton's place on the active roster, the club recalled right-hander Stefan Crichton. 

That's obviously a concern, as forearm issues can be a precursor to more serious arm problems. On that point, some background ... 

Buck said Britton felt something with forearm throwing curve Fri. Too soon to know if he can return 10 days.

— Steve Melewski (@masnSteve) April 16, 2017

Consider this a "time will tell" situation. 

Britton's kept runs off the board thus far in 2017 but hasn't shown quite the same vintage command, very likely in part because of his forearm issues. When healthy, however, the lefty 29-year-old lefty is one of the best closers in all of baseball. Since moving to the bullpen full-time prior to the 2014 season, Britton's authored an otherworldly ERA+ of 302 and put up a K/BB ratio of 3.81. Along the way, he's converted 94 percent of his save opportunities. 

Obviously, the Orioles will be hoping his injury doesn't cascade into something worse and that he requires just the minimum stay on the DL. In the meantime, this is a serious loss for first-place Baltimore.