Baltimore Orioles Ace Set For Elbow Surgery, Officially Ruled Out For Season

Grayson Rodriguez won't pitch in 2025 after all, but the Baltimore Orioles' former top prospect could be ready for spring training after going under the knife.

Seattle, Washington, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez (30) reacts following a strikeout against the Seattle Mariners to end the sixth inning at T-Mobile Park. | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez will undergo elbow debridement surgery, interim manager Tony Mansolino told reporters Monday.

Rodriguez, who has yet to take the mound in the majors this year, has officially been ruled out for the remainder of the 2025 season. The right-hander went down with a season-ending right lat injury in August 2024, dealt with right elbow inflammation the following spring training, suffered mild a right lat strain in April, then experienced additional right elbow discomfort while rehabbing earlier this month.

General manager Mike Elias first mentioned the possibility of Rodriguez going under the knife on Friday, and he will ultimately undergo the procedure next Monday, per Baltimore Baseball's Rich Dubroff.

The surgery is not related to Rodriguez's UCL, and FOX Sprots Knoxville's Tyler Barberis relayed that he should be ready to return to action in time for spring training – barring any setbacks, of course.

Grayson Rodriguez will indeed have season-ending elbow surgery, Tony Mansolino said. It’s expected to be early next week.

It is elbow debridement surgery as Mike Elias said Friday. Goal is to prevent future impingement issues. It is not UCL related or Tommy John surgery.

— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) August 4, 2025

Rodriguez was ranked as the No. 7 prospect in baseball entering 2023. He made his MLB debut that year, then saw his stats improve across the board in 2024.

After going 7-4 with a 4.35 ERA, 1.336 WHIP, 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.9 WAR as a rookie, Rodriguez went 13-4 with a 3.86 ERA, 1.243 WHIP, 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.4 WAR his sophomore campaign.

The Orioles have sorely missed that kind of production at the top of their rotation in 2025.

Dean Kremer and Tomoyuki Sugano have been Baltimore's most reliable starters, but they have only combined for a 4.34 ERA and 2.0 WAR. Charlie Morton, Zach Eflin, Cade Povich and Brandon Young all contributed negative WARs, while Trevor Rogers didn't make his season debut until June.

That lackluster starting pitching has buried the Orioles in last place in the AL East at 51-61 with eight weeks left in the regular season. Even if Rodriguez had been cleared to return to the majors, he likely wouldn't have been able to turn things around fast enough for Baltimore to make a serious playoff push.

Rodriguez will turn 26 years old prior to the 2026 season. Who exactly he rejoins in the rotation remains to be seen, considering Morton was traded to the Detroit Tigers and Eflin and Sugano are slated to hit free agency. Kyle Bradish, meanwhile, is still recovering from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last summer.

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