John Means finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2019 but has had poor luck with injuries since 2022. Mitchell Layton / Getty Images
John Means can’t seem to catch a break. The lefty starter who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022 and 2024 after a strong start to his career with the Baltimore Orioles, announced Thursday that he tore his Achilles on Tuesday. As if that weren’t painful enough, he said he was on the verge of signing with a new team the day he suffered the injury.
“This is hard to put into words, but I’ll try,” Means posted on Instagram. “On Tuesday, while training, I ruptured my Achilles. It happened the same day I was supposed to sign with a team and be available on Opening Day for the first time in a long time. … I was finally enjoying my first healthy offseason in four years and felt better than ever. I don’t know why this happened or how this chapter will ultimately be used, but I know it’s now part of my story and God has a plan.”
After spending his first seven seasons with the Orioles, the 32-year-old signed a $1 million deal for 2025 with the Cleveland Guardians, who declined his $6 million club option for 2026 after he didn’t pitch for the club. Means made seven minor-league starts in 2025 with a 6.08 ERA over 26 2/3 innings.
Over a year removed from his second major elbow procedure, Means was an intriguing name on the free-agent market despite pitching only 52 1/3 big-league innings since 2022. He showed massive promise early on in Baltimore, where he made the All-Star team and finished second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2019.
Means went 6-9 with a 3.62 ERA in 2021 and pitched a no-hitter that season against the Seattle Mariners that was about as close as a pitcher can come to tossing a perfect game. Sam Haggerty was the only Mariners batter to reach base against Means, and he did so on a dropped third strike. Haggerty was thrown out attempting to steal second base, so Means ended up facing the minimum 27 batters while striking out 12.