Orioles Rising Star Pitcher Continues Road to Recovery From Elbow Inflammation

The Baltimore Orioles have had quite a few players dealing with injuries recently, but one of their key starting pitchers has continued to recover quickly.

Jul 20, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Grayson Rodriguez (30) throws against the Texas Rangers in the first inning at Globe Life Field. / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles have had quite a few injuries pop up this spring, and would end up starting out the season with seven players on the injured list, six of which were pitchers. This has left an already short pitching staff in a dire position, without many of their key pieces to create any resemblance of depth. However, some good news has been coming in recently regarding the recovery of one of those starters.

Rising star Grayson Rodriguez has been dealing with elbow inflammation which was a setback to his 2025 season starting off right. He would only make two starts during spring training and ultimately would end up on the 15-day IL retroactive to March 24. This means the earliest he could return is April 8, so there is still some time to go before that can even be considered.

The good news is that he has begun to ramp up in his recovery, throwing off a mound ahead of Friday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Also, in a discussion transcribed by Jake Rill of MLB.com, would say that this is the second time he has thrown off a mound since suffering the injury.

Any signs of improvement are always a good thing, especially when it comes to elbow injuries as they can rapidly deteriorate with time. Having signs of rapid improvement, and being able to throw off a mound with what looks to be pretty solid velocity, is a huge upgrade from no sessions at all.

Rodriguez has had a very solid first two seasons at the MLB level with the Orioles, improving in 2024 to the point where he was considered a reliable option in the rotation. He would put up a 3.86 ERA, 1.243 WHIP, 130 strikeouts to 36 walks, and only allowed 15 home runs in 116.2 innings pitched.

While he did start three games less than he did in 2023, he improved drastically in many key categories and is going to become a critical component for Baltimore in any possible postseason run.

Given he has a little under two weeks to make a full recovery and be ready for starting duties again, seeing improvement only three days after he was placed on the injured list is a good start. He will definitely need to continue on this path to be able to see a start right after being activated, but at current pace, things are looking good as he continues to ramp up towards that first game of his for 2025.

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