Orioles lose starting pitcher to IL but reinstate another

The Orioles announced Wednesday that they’ve placed right-hander Grayson Rodriguez on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right shoulder. The move is retroactive to April 30. Rodriguez will be replaced by veteran lefty John Means, who has been reinstated from a stint on the 15-day IL himself. Means has yet to pitch this season while recovering from a left forearm strain.

To this point, it’s unclear when Rodriguez hurt himself or how serious the injury is. He started Monday’s game and went 5 2/3 innings, throwing 101 pitches in the process. Until more information comes from the club, it can only be speculated how long he’ll be out.

Regardless, it’s always a bit concerning when anything goes on with a pitcher’s throwing arm. Losing Rodriguez for any time is a blow to the O’s since he has been in good form for quite a while now. His big league career was rough last year, as he had a 7.35 earned run average through 10 starts.

The Orioles optioned him to the minors and recalled him almost two months later, with Rodriguez posting good results since then. After that recall last year, he had a 2.58 ERA and has a 3.71 mark this year. Returning to that midseason call-up last year to today, he has a 2.93 ERA over 19 starts. In that time, he has a 24.4% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 46.7% ground ball rate.

Subtracting that kind of pitcher would hurt any rotation, but the O’s also have Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells on the injured list. Until Wednesday, Means was in that group as well. After these transactions, the healthy rotation consists of Means, Corbin Burnes, Cole Irvin, Dean Kremer and Albert Suárez.

Burnes is excellent, but there are some question marks behind him. Irvin has a good ERA this year but iffy peripherals that suggest he’s not much different from past seasons. Kremer has a 4.19 ERA despite a .209 batting average on balls in play he won’t be able to maintain. Suárez has looked good in his three starts, but it’s anyone’s guess if he can keep it going since he’s 34 years old, and this is his first stint in the majors since 2017.

As for Means, he’s a big unknown himself. The lefty posted a 3.81 ERA with the O’s until requiring Tommy John surgery in April 2022. He returned late last year and made four starts but didn’t make the club’s postseason roster due to some elbow soreness. He began this year on the IL and had been rehabbing in recent weeks but with shaky results. He has thrown 18 2/3 innings for Triple-A Norfolk but with 18 earned runs allowed in that time.

It’s impossible to say what Means can provide for the club this year after hardly pitching at all in the previous two seasons and his poor results during his rehab, he would be an asset if he could even get part of the way back to his pre-surgery form. Bradish is also nearing activation, which will give Baltimore another arm to bolster the group and could perhaps push Suárez into a long relief role in the bullpen.