PHILADELPHIA -- Grayson Rodriguez's road to an MLB return will extend into 2026.
Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino announced prior to Monday’s 13-3 loss to the Phillies in the series opener at Citizens Bank Park that Rodriguez will undergo a debridement surgery on his right elbow early next week (tentatively scheduled for Aug. 11). It means the 25-year-old right-hander will not pitch for Baltimore in 2025.
The operation will remove bone chips from Rodriguez’s right elbow, which first became an issue in Spring Training when he felt discomfort during a March 5 Grapefruit League start. The elbow ailment returned in mid-July, when he felt more discomfort while rehabbing a right lat strain (a second injury that popped up in mid-April).
Rodriguez’s most recent start for the Orioles was July 31, 2024. He was scratched from a scheduled outing six days later due to a right lat/teres strain that ended his ‘24 season.
Rodriguez’s next start won’t be until March/April 2026, at the earliest.
“We feel for him. The whole organization feels for him,” Mansolino said. “I mean, that’s a guy we’re really counting on here in our organization to get us to where we want to go, in terms of the season and the postseason. Very unfortunate. It’s not for a lack of effort, by any means -- by him or by our medical staff or by all the people that are involved.
“It’s just a very unfortunate set of circumstances.”
The decision for Rodriguez to undergo surgery didn’t come until after the organization tried to see if he could work through it without needing an operation. However, general manager Mike Elias indicated last Friday that surgery was “on the table” as a potential path forward -- one that came to fruition with Monday’s news.
“At the time, that was the opinion of all medical parties, including outside opinions: To treat the injury conservatively before we go diving into an elbow surgery,” Elias said. “He’s had a tough year.”
A 2018 first-round Draft pick once ranked among the top prospects in baseball, Rodriguez was having a breakout sophomore campaign in ‘24, before the start of the injury issues arrived. He had a 3.86 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 116 2/3 innings over 20 starts. It was a continuation of the second half of his ‘23 rookie season, which he finished with a 2.58 ERA over his final 13 starts.
The O’s were counting on Rodriguez to take another big step forward in 2025. It’s part of the reason they didn’t bring in a true ace this past offseason, when they instead signed complementary pieces such as Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano.
Much like Rodriguez’s recovery, the Orioles’ season hasn’t gone as planned. They’ve had 26 players spend time on the injured list, with many of them being starting pitchers. They became sellers at last Thursday’s Trade Deadline, dealing Morton to the Tigers and multiple key position players to various teams.
Kyle Bradish (Tommy John surgery) and Tyler Wells (UCL repair surgery) have yet to pitch this year, though both are now on Minor League rehab assignments. Zach Eflin (lower back discomfort) is currently on the IL for the third time. Cade Povich (left hip inflammation) made his first start since June 15 when he took the mound Monday night, allowing four runs over 5 2/3 innings vs. the Phillies.
It could be worse for Rodriguez, as the announcement of elbow injuries always incites a fear of Tommy John surgery (UCL reconstruction). But that’s not the procedure he’s getting, so the recovery timeline is not nearly as long, even if it will go into the offseason.
Rodriguez has made it clear there’s nothing he wishes more than to be pitching for the O’s.
“I think that’s probably one of the tough parts about it,” Rodriguez said in mid-June. “Obviously, you can’t ever figure baseball out, and if you say you’ve figured it out, it will humble you really quick. But yeah, my confidence was really high, and I think that’s one thing that I’ve struggled having to deal with is knowing that I’m where I want to be right now. But not being able to go out there and pitch every five days really just kills me.”