The Orioles have several players who are eyeing late-season returns from various injuries. Their recoveries are still in line with that goal.
Grayson Rodriguez played catch Saturday for the first time since he was placed on the injured list with right lat/teres discomfort on Aug. 7. It’s the first progression in his recovery that will eventually include throwing at full strength, getting more scans and pitching off a mound, with an eye for a return in late September still the goal.
“So far, so good,” the 24-year-old right-hander said. “Everything feels good.”
Rodriguez said he didn’t feel any discomfort in the days leading up to him landing on the IL earlier this month. Rather, the injury popped up while going through his pregame routine in the hours leading up to his scheduled start against the Toronto Blue Jays.
After Rodriguez’s injury, general manager Mike Elias said the plan was for the right-hander to take 10 days off from throwing — Saturday marks 10 days since the injury. Next, Elias said, is another scan to determine whether the muscle is healing properly.
So far, Rodriguez is on schedule.
“I don’t think we really have a day in mind. I think it’s going to go off how I feel day to day,” Rodriguez said when asked about when he feels he could return. “I want to be here for the postseason. Making sure that we do everything we can to just make sure it stays healthy and in a good spot.”
Rodriguez is among several important Orioles aiming for late September returns. Left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe (elbow surgery) and infielder Jordan Westburg (broken hand) have been out since June and July, respectively. Infielder Jorge Mateo (dislocated elbow), who’s on the 60-day injured list with an earliest possible return date of Sept. 24, is a longer shot to play again this season but is nonetheless aiming to return for the postseason.
With key contributors eyeing returns at the same time, Baltimore faces a unique challenge.
The Orioles are racing against the schedule to get those players back in time to play in regular-season games before the postseason. That could naturally lead to them rushing to get back to the field, in turn heightening their risk of reinjury. But Brandon Hyde said he doesn’t anticipate players skipping steps in their recovery to accelerate their timelines: “I’m not really worried about that,” the manager said.
Ideally, the Orioles won’t have to worry about that risk if Rodriguez, Coulombe and Westburg continue to recover on schedule. Rodriguez made his first step toward that goal Saturday.
“I’d put all those guys in somewhat the same bucket — hopeful for sometime in September but hopefully enough time to where it’s not right at the end of the regular season,” Elias said. “But we’ll see.”
Around the horn
• Adley Rutschman is feeling “a little better” Saturday, Hyde said, after the All-Star catcher was scratched from Friday’s lineup with lower back tightness. Rutschman was not in the lineup again Saturday against the Boston Red Sox, but Hyde said he could be healthy enough to come off the bench and will aim to return within “the next day or two.”
• Right-handed reliever Jacob Webb also played catch Saturday, Hyde said, for the first time since he landed on the injured list with elbow discomfort on the same day as Rodriguez. Elias said this week that Webb’s injury is hopefully only “a two-week blow.”
• Albert Suárez will start Sunday in the Orioles’ series finale against the Red Sox. The 34-year-old right-hander was originally scheduled to start Saturday but was pushed back a day, along with the rest of the rotation, as rookie left-handed Cade Povich was recalled to pitch Saturday instead.