Sports

Orioles put No. 2 starter Grayson Rodriguez on the 15-day injured list with lat soreness

August 7, 2024 / 6:36 PM EDT / AP

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Baltimore right-hander Grayson Rodriguez will be shut down for an unspecified period because of a mild strain in his right shoulder and back but the Orioles are "optimistic" he'll return this season, manager Brandon Hyde said Wednesday.

The Orioles put Rodriguez on the 15-day injured list Wednesday, retroactive to Sunday. The move came one day after Rodriguez was scratched from a start at Toronto and returned to Baltimore for tests.

Rodriguez is 13-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 20 starts for the Orioles, tied with Atlanta's Chris Sale and Kansas City's Julio Lugo for the major league lead in victories.

"He's going to miss some time," Hyde said. "We're going to shut him down for a little while, get him some rest and recovery, get him some rehab. I think we're optimistic about it. Hopefully he's going to join us sometime soon. That's yet to be determined. We're going to let him rest for a little bit before we crank him back up."

Hyde said it was too soon to say how long Rodriguez would need to be out.

"It's just monitoring him on a daily basis," Hyde said. "We'll leave it up to the medical guys to figure that out."

Baltimore's first-round pick in the 2018 draft, Rodriguez has won five of his last six decisions. He went 7-4 with a 4.35 ERA in 23 starts as a rookie last season.

Right-hander Albert Suárez started in place of Rodriguez on Tuesday and struck out six over five scoreless innings.

"He's obviously a great candidate for us to fill the spot in the meantime," Hyde said.

Also Wednesday, Baltimore put outfielder Heston Kjerstad on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Thursday, because of concussion symptoms. Right-hander Jacob Webb went on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Sunday, because of a sore right elbow.

The Orioles recalled right-hander Bryan Baker and left-hander Keegan Akin from Triple-A Norfolk.

Hyde said Webb felt sore playing catch before Tuesday's game and was not available to face Toronto. Webb still felt sore when playing catch Wednesday.

"He's got some inflammation," Hyde said. "We're going to fly him back to Baltimore and get some further tests. Hoping for the best there."

Kjerstad was optioned to Triple-A on Thursday but did not join Norfolk. He was hit in the helmet by a 97 mph pitch from New York Yankees' Clay Holmes in a July 12 game between the AL East rivals.