Thursday’s trade deadline marked one year since Grayson Rodriguez last pitched, one of many factors contributing to this lost 2025 season for the Orioles.
But after the recurrence of an impingement in his right elbow — which first surfaced in spring training — that prompted Rodriguez’s latest shutdown, general manager Mike Elias acknowledged season-ending surgery is a real possibility despite nothing being finalized. The good news is this isn’t Tommy John surgery or a UCL repair that would take him out of the equation for 2026, but the Orioles need to get one of their most talented pitchers healthy and back on the mound next season.
The organization is hoping surgery can make that possible after what’s been “a tough year” for Rodriguez.
“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,” said Elias about the handling of the elbow impingement. “But now with this recurring, I think that option is back on the table. This would not be an elbow reconstruction. It would be a debridement of some bone that needs to be removed or can be removed.
“If we go through with this, which is a possibility here in the next few days, it’ll put him down for the rest of 2025, but it will put him in a position to return for 2026 spring training.”
That’s the idea anyway.
Of course, an elbow debridement procedure doesn’t directly address concerns about the lat injuries Rodriguez has endured since 2022, but any issue in a pitcher’s kinetic chain can cause problems elsewhere. The 25-year-old has missed extensive time with lat injuries in three of his last four professional seasons, a reality that’s stunted the development and contributions of someone once widely regarded as the best pitching prospect in baseball.
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In 43 career starts covering 238 2/3 innings, Rodriguez has pitched to a 4.11 ERA while averaging 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings.
Rodriguez and right-hander Kyle Bradish concluded the 2023 season as Baltimore’s top two starters, but few would have predicted the latter would be the first to return to the mound from their respective 2024 injuries. Bradish, 28, underwent Tommy John surgery in June of 2024 and recently began his minor-league rehab assignment in hopes of being activated later this month. A lat strain cost Rodriguez the final two months of the 2024 regular season as well as the playoffs, but elbow, triceps, and lat issues that began in spring training have prevented him from pitching this season.
Basallo, Beavers continue waiting
With the Orioles having traded six veterans from their 26-man roster since finishing a four-game set with Toronto on Wednesday afternoon, multiple roster additions were made prior to the start of a three-game set at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon.
To replace Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano, Ramon Urias, Charlie Morton, and Andrew Kittredge, the Orioles recalled recalled infielders Jeremiah Jackson and Luis Vázquez and right-hander Yaramil Hiraldo and selected the contracts of outfielder Jordyn Adams and infielder Terrin Vavra. Baltimore also acquired 34-year-old lefty Dietrich Enns from Detroit for cash considerations on Thursday evening.
Jackson was in Friday’s lineup and set to make his major league debut as the designated hitter in the No. 9 spot. Signed as a minor-league free agent in the offseason, the 25-year-old posted a .377/.400/.673 slash line in 171 plate appearances for Triple-A Norfolk and will get a chance to fill the void left by Urias as a utility player.
Many were understandably clamoring for the Orioles to promote a pair of top prospects — catcher Samuel Basallo and outfielder Dylan Beavers — in the wake of so much deadline activity, but Elias still aims for that to happen before the end of 2025.
“They’re both having terrific seasons. They’ve both been bright spots for this organization in a tough year,” Elias said. “To see them performing at Triple-A like that is really good. They’ve come a long way, and they’re almost there. There’s some things that we’re still looking for and hoping that they’ll do, but I do think getting them a taste in 2025 here would be a good thing for all parties.”
A consensus top-15 prospect in all of baseball, the 20-year-old Basallo has batted .273 with 20 home runs, 51 RBIs, and a .984 on-base plus slugging percentage in 273 plate appearances for Norfolk in 2025. Beavers — who ranks as MLB.com’s No. 3 Orioles prospect — owns a .304 average with 14 homers, 42 RBIs, and a .916 OPS in 363 plate appearances for the Tides this season.
