Everything Orioles fans need to know about Grayson Rodriguez’s injury

Just prior to Tuesday evening's matchup in Toronto, the Orioles scratched righty Grayson Rodriguez and were forced to start Albert Suarez on short notice. Suarez pitched admirably, throwing 5 scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts and 2 walks en route to a no decision.

The O's wound up losing the game in painful fashion, with Brandon Hyde floundering with in-game matchup decisions that left the bases loaded in the top of the 8th.

However, last night's loss might not have been the worst thing to happen to the O's yesterday. We found out later in the evening that Rodriguez had been pulled due to feeling tightness in his lat muscle. The Orioles chose to play it safe and give Rodriguez the night off but further reporting has fans panicking about what the future holds for the young righty.

Injury to Orioles' righty Grayson Rodriguez is deeply concerning

It was noted on Tuesday night that Rodriguez has been sent by team doctors back to Baltimore for further evaluation, which is absolutely not a good thing to hear. He's almost certainly set to miss some time, even if this injury somehow doesn't require an extended absence.

A very similar injury back in 2022, when Rodriguez was in Double-A Bowie, caused the righty to miss a large chunk of time. Back then it was classified as right lat discomfort, and the Orioles have designated this current injury as essentially the same thing.

In total, Rodriguez's previous lat injury cost him three months and pushed his major league debut back to 2023. If he's forced to miss a similar amount of time in 2024, it'll be the end of his season.

Rodriguez has been solid in the O's rotation this year. In his sophomore season, he's pitched to a 3.86 ERA with an above average 26.5% strikeout rate. Additionally, his 3.66 FIP suggests he'd actually been underperforming, which is a good sign for his future performance.

While there's still room for improvement, Rodriguez has done a stand-up job of working behind Corbin Burnes in the 2 spot in the Orioles' rotation. If he's required to miss time, the O's will have to shift deadline acquisitions Zach Eflin and Trevor Rogers up in the order, and could potentially force them to put Suarez back in the 5 spot for the time being.

An extended absence would be devastating for this team, which chose not to add a top of the rotation starter at the trade deadline. Burnes and Eflin are a solid 1-2 punch but the O's depth drops off a bit after that.

The O's desperately need Rodriguez to return healthy for the postseason so whatever it takes to get there will be best for the team in the long run.