PHILADELPHIA – Grayson Rodriguez won’t pitch in 2025. The last flicker of hope is doused.

The elbow discomfort that shut down Rodriguez again will lead to a debridement procedure next week to clean out some bone fragments. The surgery is expected to happen a week from today.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias stated Friday in a video call that surgery was “back on the table," so today's news was more of a confirmation. The timing of it should make Rodriguez available in 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 in spring training after a March 5 outing against the Twins in Fort Myers.

A drastic decline in velocity that day led to speculation about an injury. Rodriguez said he felt “sluggish,” and the Orioles put him on the injured list before breaking camp with elbow inflammation. Rodriguez also felt soreness in his triceps, but the first setback in his recovery was caused by another lat strain that prevented him from engaging in an April bullpen session.

PHILADELPHIA – The Orioles reinstated left-hander Cade Povich from the injured list today and he gets the ball to start a three-game series against the Phillies.

That wasn’t the only move.

Infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján was activated and he’s wearing No. 40. The Orioles claimed him yesterday.

The counter moves were optioning reliever Houston Roth and outfielder Jordyn Adams. Roth didn’t make his major league debut before departing.

Povich has a 5.15 ERA and 1.500 WHIP in 13 games (12 starts). His only relief appearance came on June 15, with 3 2/3 scoreless innings before going on the IL with left hip inflammation.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Reinstated LHP Cade Povich (left hip inflammation) from the 15-day Injured List. He will start tonight’s game.
• Activated INF/OF Vidal Bruján. He will wear No. 40.
• Optioned RHP Houston Roth to Triple-A Norfolk after yesterday’s game.
• Optioned OF Jordyn Adams to Triple-A Norfolk.

It’s been a constant source of frustration throughout the season. No matter how poorly they’ve pitched, the Nationals have often had little choice but to stick with the staff they’ve got because of a lack of viable alternatives knocking on the door in the minors.

There have been a few moments along the way when the organization has made roster changes, from the early-season cutting of ties with struggling veterans Jorge López, Lucas Sims and Colin Poche, to the in-season additions of Andrew Chafin, Luis Garcia and Konnor Pilkington. But transactions have mostly been limited, because there simply haven’t been enough minor league pitchers worthy of promotion.

That’s what made this weekend’s lopsided sweep at the hands of the Brewers feel all the more hopeless. After interim general manager Mike DeBartolo traded Chafin, Luis Garcia and Kyle Finnegan prior to Thursday’s deadline, the bullpen that remained was beaten to a pulp by Milwaukee, combining to surrender 22 runs in only 14 1/3 innings over the last three days.

What recourse does DeBartolo even have at this point?

The Nationals did make one move following Sunday’s 14-3 loss, optioning right-hander Ryan Loutos (owner of a 12.00 ERA in 10 big league games with the club) to Triple-A Rochester. That still leaves six relievers on the active staff with an ERA over 5.00: Jose A. Ferrer, Orlando Ribalta, Andry Lara, Jackson Rutledge, Shinnosuke Ogasawara and Zach Brzykcy. The only two exceptions: Pilkington (1.42 ERA in seven games) and Cole Henry (3.86 ERA in 42 games).

Attempts to get comfortable with the structure of the Orioles’ roster is time wasted. The changes and debuts are coming at a dizzying pace.

The Orioles set a club record by using 62 players in the 110-loss 2021 season. The total is 55 this year and they have infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján and relievers Elvin Rodríguez and Houston Roth waiting for their first chance. Bruján will meet the team in Philadelphia.

Terrin Vavra received his first at-bat Saturday since 2023, and before the Orioles designated him for assignment the following day. He just made it under the wire.

A corresponding move is pending with Bruján. Vavra seemed to be the most likely player to go but he’s already out the door. Shortstop Luis Vázquez could be vulnerable.

Jeremiah Jackson has started in right field the past two games and he’s hit, moving up to fifth in the order yesterday. The ground beneath his feet might be more solid.

CHICAGO – A post-trade deadline world involves a lot of moving pieces. 

The Orioles will take chances on waiver claims and young talent, hoping to find diamonds in the rough. 

Who knows if Ryan Noda will be a flier that becomes a piece. This afternoon, though, he was a ninth-inning hero. One of two, but we'll get to that.

With the O's down 3-2 and down to their final out, Noda brought Colton Cowser home to tie the game at three. 

But the heroics, and the good feelings it brought, were short lived. The Cubs walked it off in the ninth, and the Orioles fell 5-3. 

The fear when the Nationals traded away their three most reliable relievers before Thursday’s deadline was what would remain in the bullpen for the final two months of an already-lost 2025 season. Interim general manager Mike DeBartolo was willing to take that chance, recognizing Kyle Finnegan, Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia weren’t going to be a part of the team’s 2026 roster, so he might as well get what he could for the three veterans now.

Those fears, though, were fully realized this weekend when the remnants of the Nats bullpen met the full extent of the Brewers lineup. It wasn’t pretty.

Today’s 14-3 thumping was merely the final blow in a series of blowouts. In getting swept by the team with the National League’s best record, the Nationals were outscored 38-14.

And the Nats weren’t just swept by the Brewers this weekend. They were swept in the season series, outscored 60-23 in six games that more than proved the chasm that currently exists between these two teams.

"That's what a winning team looks like," interim manager Miguel Cairo said of a Milwaukee club that's now 67-44. "They beat us, simple as that."

The trade deadline left plenty of room for the Orioles to add players to their 26- and 40-man rosters. It’s a byproduct of being sellers. Lots of subtractions allow for future additions.

Two more moves came this afternoon while the Orioles played the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias claimed infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján, 27, on waivers from the Cubs. He hasn’t reported but should join the Orioles in Philadelphia.

Elias also claimed right-hander Carson Ragsdale, 27, from the Giants, and the Orioles optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk.

The 40-man roster has increased to 37 players.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Claimed INF/OF Vidal Bruján off waivers from the Chicago Cubs. He has not yet reported.
• Claimed RHP Carson Ragsdale off waivers from the San Francisco Giants and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 37 players.

CHICAGO – The process was supposed to be smoother for Jeremiah Jackson. 

Entering the 2018 MLB Draft, the Alabama high schooler was the No. 57 prospect in the class, according to MLB Pipeline. They noted that the shortstop had been starting at that position for his high school team since the seventh grade, winning two state championships in the process. 

His upside was high enough for the Angels to make him the 57th pick in that year’s draft.

Jackson hit the ground running with a .939 OPS in 65 games in rookie ball in 2019. In 2021, he advanced to Single-A, and finished that minor league season with an OPS over .900, too. 

But then, in Double-A, he hit a road block. 

The Washington Nationals claimed left-handed pitcher PJ Poulin off waivers from the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. Nationals Interim General Manager Mike DeBartolo made the announcement.

Poulin, 29, was 7-1 with a 3.38 ERA (16 ER/42.2 IP), a pair of saves and 62 strikeouts in 35 games (three starts) for Triple-A Toledo this season. His 13.08 strikeouts per 9.0 innings rank fourth in all of Triple-A (min. 40.0 IP). In his final seven outings for the Mud Hens, he struck out 11, held opponents to a .120 average (3-for-25), and allowed just one run (1.17 ERA).

Originally an 11^th-round pick in the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Connecticut by Colorado and traded to Detroit for cash considerations in 2024, Poulin is 27-13 with a 3.44 ERA and 412 strikeouts in 339.2 innings in seven Minor League seasons.

Miguel Cairo had already assembled his lineup for today’s series finale against the Brewers before learning Jacob Misiorowski was going on the 15-day injured list with a bruised left shin, forcing a change of pitching plans by Milwaukee.

Cairo’s response: No changes to his Nationals lineup. He already had a lefty-heavy group ready to go against Misiorowski, and he felt that same look would work just as well against replacement Logan Henderson.

That lineup had James Wood serving as designated hitter all along, and it also had Nathaniel Lowe on the bench, giving Josh Bell a rare opportunity to play first base.

“I want to give Wood a little break from the outfield and DH him,” Cairo explained. “J.B., it’s been a while since he played first. I want to give him some action at first base, too.”

This is among the dilemmas now confronting Cairo and the Nationals over the season’s final two months. Bell wasn’t among the veterans on expiring contracts dealt at Thursday’s trade deadline. He remains on the roster. And even though there are a number of younger players seeking major league experience, Bell (who has a robust .852 OPS over his last 49 games) is still going to get regular playing time.

The latest roster move this morning brings Ryan Noda to the visiting clubhouse at Wrigley Field.

Noda, claimed on waivers yesterday from the White Sox, has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. He’s wearing No. 41.

The Orioles designated infielder/outfielder Terrin Vavra for assignment.

The 40-man roster has 35 players.

Noda, 29, appeared in 16 games with the White Sox this season and went 3-for-34 with a home run and 10 strikeouts. He played in 128 games with the Athletics in 2023 and 36 in 2024 and is a career .204/.341/.357 hitter. He smacked 16 home runs with 54 RBIs and a .770 OPS in ’23.

The Nationals thought they were going to be trying to avoid not only a series sweep but a season sweep at the hands of the Brewers this afternoon by facing rookie phenom Jacob Misiorowski. Turns out they won’t be facing Misiorowski, who was just placed on the 15-day injured list with a left tibia contusion (he was struck in the leg by a comebacker in his last outing). But before you get too excited, the replacement for The Miz is Logan Henderson, another rookie right-hander who in his first four career starts earlier this season went 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA, 29 strikeouts and only six walks. (Amazing what a difference organizational pitching depth can make, huh?)

So, the Nats still have their work cut out for them to produce offense today. They were held to two hits by Brandon Woodruff and the Brewers bullpen during Saturday’s 8-2 loss. That’s obviously not going to cut it today.

On the bright side, Brad Lord gets the ball for the home team, and that’s something to look forward to. The rookie right-hander has looked really good in his first two starts since returning from the bullpen a few weeks ago, allowing two runs over 9 1/3 innings (and throwing only 109 pitches in the process). He’ll be trying to build up to about 70-75 pitches today, so that could allow him to provide some length as well for a Nationals staff that could use it.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 81 degrees, wind 7 mph in from right field

BREWERS
2B Brice Turang
C William Contreras
1B Andrew Vaughn
DH Christian Yelich
LF Isaac Collins
CF Blake Perkins
3B Anthony Seigler
RF Brandon Lockridge
SS Joey Ortiz

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Recalled 1B/OF Ryan Noda from Triple-A Norfolk. He will wear No. 41.
• Designated INF/OF Terrin Vavra for assignment.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 35 players.

The Orioles didn’t free up as much room in their rotation as anticipated at the deadline.

They also didn’t bring in a starter or reliever who would be assured of a roster spot in 2026, though they considered it. The role of seller comes with certain limits.

“Yeah, we definitely tried for that,” executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said in Friday’s video call. “It’s a rental reliever, a rental player, and I say, ‘Hey, give me your major-league-ready starting pitcher that’s under control for six years,’ it’s just not a real likely trade to happen in that context. So rather than try to force that and either come away with nothing or come away with a guy that’s not very good, I think the right thing to do is get the most value back for the organization, and so that’s what we did.

“Obviously, we would have loved to do that, but you’ve got to be realistic and there’s just not a lot of major-league-ready starting pitchers being traded by teams that are right there in contention, especially for rental-type returns.”

Charlie Morton was in a late trade to the Tigers, but Elias didn’t move Zach Eflin or Tomoyuki Sugano. Eflin is on the injured list with lower back discomfort, his third trip but nothing that should keep him out for an extended stretch, and Sugano started yesterday and allowed three runs in five innings.

No matter if and when the Nationals' offense showed up today against the Brewers, the pitching simply needed to be better.

After allowing 16 runs and giving up a club-record 25 hits in Friday’s series-opening loss, the collective effort on the mound had to drastically improve for the home team or else they again would have no shot to beat the team with the best record in baseball.

Leading that charge on the hill was Jake Irvin, who was looking to follow up his strong outing his last time out in his home state of Minnesota. But the right-hander surrendered an early lead en route to another short outing in the Nats’ 8-2 loss in front of 28,869 fans on South Capitol Street.

Before he tossed seven strong innings of two-run ball against the Twins, Irvin turned in his shortest start of the season against the Reds, giving up five runs in just 3 ⅔ innings on 72 pitches. He just barely eclipsed that Saturday afternoon.

The Brewers were all over Irvin from the jump, their lineup filled with lefties and switch-hitters who were easily pulling his pitches into right field. They ended up scoring in each of the first three frames to put the Nats in an early hole.

CHICAGO – For seven and two-thirds innings, things looked bleak for the Orioles' offense. 

Yesterday, the Birds were blanked in nine innings. Trevor Rogers' eight-inning complete game, allowing just one run, was for naught. 

This afternoon, it looked as if the Orioles would squander another solid pitching performance. Baltimore had allowed just three earned runs in seven innings, and the offense was, once again, shut out. 

For over sixteen innings, the O's offense was lifeless. 

A three-run home run from Gunnar Henderson in the eighth inning changed everything, and the Orioles walked away victorious, 4-3. 

Keibert Ruiz walked around the Nationals' clubhouse with his usual big smile. He then had a playful interaction with CJ Abrams walking from his locker to the kitchen. All seemed normal.

Except life is still not normal for the 27-year-old catcher, who continues to experience symptoms from a concussion that has placed him on the injured list twice since June 24 and most recently since July 8.

“I feel much better than a couple weeks ago,” Ruiz said at his locker before today’s game against the Brewers. “And I'm just following the protocol. I gotta get used to noises and I'm sensitive. ... I'm doing a little bit more every day, like working out and all that stuff.”

Ruiz missed 10 days during his first IL stint after he was hit in the head by a ricocheting foul ball in the visitors’ dugout in San Diego. In just his second game back, he was struck in the facemask by two foul balls, which brought back the concussion symptoms.

The Nats chose to place him back on the IL the following day with the same concussion that had been reaggravated. Since then, Ruiz has barely been around the team, not traveling with them on road trips and not coming around the home clubhouse while trying to get his sensitivity to light and noises down.

Tyler O’Neill was supposed to serve as the designated hitter today at Wrigley Field, but he’s been removed from the lineup due to an unspecified illness.

O’Neill has made two trips to the injured list this season with neck inflammation and a left shoulder impingement, and he recently was bothered by "general soreness." He went 9-for-16 and hit a home run in four consecutive games between July 24-29 but has gone 0-for-9 in his last three games.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino has moved Gunnar Henderson from shortstop to designated hitter. Luis Vázquez enters the new lineup at shortstop, and he’s batting ninth.

O’Neill was supposed to bat fifth. Coby Mayo moves up one spot.

For the Orioles