Orioles right-hander Branden Kline missed almost three full years due to elbow surgery and the ensuing complications, but his comeback as a hard-throwing reliever in 2018 was rewarded Tuesday as the team selected his contract from Double-A Bowie and added him to the major league roster.
Kline, a Frederick native, was set to be a minor league free agent after completing his sixth full minor league season after the Orioles selected him in the second round of the 2012 draft out of Virginia. Kline was on the verge of a breakout year in the Bowie rotation in 2015 when he first hurt his elbow, and after surgery that fall, needed two cleanup procedures to get him back to full health on the mound.