Grayson Rodriguez underwent a procedure earlier today to remove a bone spur in his right elbow. Dr. Keith Meister performed the surgery in Dallas, and the Orioles said it was “successful.”
The club indicated last week that Rodriguez probably would have the surgery today, putting an official end to any hopes that he would pitch this season.
Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias stated in in a video call after the trade deadline that surgery was “back on the table,” and the timing should make Rodriguez available for spring training.
Rodriguez hasn’t appeared in a regular season game since July 31, 2024 against the Blue Jays. He went on the injured list with another lat strain that kept him off the Wild Card roster, and he didn’t pitch after a March 5 exhibition outing against the Twins in Fort Myers.
The initial complaint from Rodriguez was a feeling of sluggishness that robbed him of the usual velocity. The Orioles put him on the injured list before breaking camp with elbow inflammation.
Rodriguez also felt soreness in his triceps, and he experienced a setback in his recovery due to a lat strain that forced the cancellation of an April bullpen session.
Asked in June whether he’d pitch after the All-Star break, Rodriguez replied, “Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I’m pretty confident with that.
“Exactly, I don’t really have a week or anything specific, but yeah, definitely going to pitch this year.”
His elbow flared up, and a pitcher who was expected to rise to the top of the rotation and fulfill his promise as an ace remained shut down.
Rodriguez, the 11th-overall pick in the 2018 draft, has experienced three separate lat strains, but today marked his first surgery.
“We feel for him. The whole organization feels for him,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said last Monday.
“That’s a guy that we’re really counting on here in our organization to get us where we want to go in terms of the season and the postseason, so very unfortunate. It’s not for a lack of effort by any means by him or by our medical staff or by the people who are involved. It’s just a very unfortunate set of circumstances.”