TORONTO — The Orioles placed two pitchers on the injured list Wednesday, with right-handers Grayson Rodriguez and Jacob Webb set for stints on the sideline.
Rodriguez, who was scratched with right lat/teres discomfort ahead of his scheduled start Tuesday, was placed on the 15-day injured list after testing unveiled a mild lat strain, manager Brandon Hyde said. The move is retroactive to Aug. 4.
Webb was added to the 15-day injured list for right elbow inflammation retroactive to Aug. 4. Both are major pieces of the pitching staff; Rodriguez is the No. 2 starter, and Webb leads the team with 53 appearances.
Rodriguez holds a 3.86 ERA in 116 2/3 innings this year. With a bevy of starting pitching injuries already — right-handers Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells and left-hander John Means are out for the year — Rodriguez took on an increasingly important role in the rotation. So, too, did the recent additions Trevor Rogers and Zach Eflin at the trade deadline.
“The Grayson development is still very fresh,” executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said during an appearance on 105.7 The Fan. “We all saw what happened on the field. He didn’t feel like he should pitch that night. He had a complaint of some soreness in a new spot. We scratched him.”
Elias said it’s too soon to know the extent of the injury, but with Rodriguez landing on the injured list, he’s “going to miss a couple starts at a minimum, and we’ll be hopeful that it’s short, but I really don’t know as of this hour and it’s just something we’re still navigating.”
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Hyde said the Orioles are optimistic the mild lat strain won’t force Rodriguez to miss too much time. But Rodriguez will cease throwing for the time being to allow him to rest and recover.
Rodriguez suffered a lat strain in 2022 and missed three months while at Triple-A Norfolk. Hyde said this strain “seems to be” less severe in nature.
“You never know what the timetable’s going to be, but hoping he can just miss some time and then rejoin us,” Hyde said.
Webb has a 3.08 ERA in 49 2/3 frames this year. He can pitch effectively against batters on both sides of the plate. During his pregame throwing program Tuesday, Webb felt elbow soreness and was unavailable for the series opener. He threw again Wednesday and inflammation in his right elbow became apparent, so he is flying back to Baltimore for further testing.
“Hoping for the best there,” Hyde said.
Additionally, Baltimore placed outfielder Heston Kjerstad on the concussion injured list for the second time in recent weeks. He was hit in the head with a pitch last month. The team had previously optioned Kjerstad to Triple-A, but with Wednesday’s move, the option has been voided, a team spokesperson said.
The Orioles recalled left-hander Keegan Akin and right-hander Bryan Baker to fill out their bullpen ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Akin and Baker have been up and down throughout the season. They carry 3.34 and 4.58 ERAs, respectively.
A key figure in replacing Rodriguez could be right-hander Albert Suárez, who filled in Tuesday and supplied five scoreless innings.
“With all the injuries we’ve had, it’s hard to picture ourselves a half game out of first without Albert,” Elias said. “So he’s right at the top of the list, but with that said, we’re still sitting down as a staff and working through all this. We’ve had other transactions today, and there’s a few balls in the air with how we want to set up the pitching staff. But I think Albert has put himself in a position to kind of carry the torch in the fifth spot for as long as he’s needed.”
