Orioles’ Rodriguez to miss start of season because of elbow discomfort; Kittredge will have knee surgery

LAKELAND, Florida—Orioles starter Grayson Rodriguez, who left Wednesday’s game after 1 1/3 innings, is being examined for discomfort in the back of his right elbow, manager Brandon Hyde said on Friday.

“We are still getting multiple opinions,” Hyde said. “It’s not a ligament issue. We’re not concerned about that, but it’s going to result in some missed time. As we get more information, we’ll share it with you.”

Rodriguez will not be ready for Opening Day.

“We’re getting the results. We’re talking to multiple people about what the treatment etc. is right now,” Hyde said. “The timeline, we’re not sure of it.”

On Thursday, Hyde said that Rodriguez, who has allowed one run on three hits this spring, had triceps soreness.

“He had some soreness where the elbow and triceps connect,” Hyde said.

Rodriguez had two stints on the injured list last year. He was on the IL in May with right shoulder inflammation and didn’t pitch in the last two months of the season because of an injury to a strain in his right lat/teres muscle.

Hyde said the competition for the fifth starter is between Cade Povich and Albert Suárez.

Reliever Andrew Kittredge, who threw just one inning and didn’t pitch in last Saturday’s game as scheduled, will have arthroscopic surgery on the cartilage of his left knee. He’ll miss a few months.

Outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who has left rib-cage soreness, and was scratched from Thursday’s game, is improving. “O’Neill’s better today. I’m hoping in the next couple of days,” Hyde said.

Jorge Mateo, who had Tommy John surgery on his left elbow last August, is going through a hitting progression and performing defensive drills. Hyde reiterated that he could play in the final Grapefruit League games.

“That means he’s going to have no spring training pretty much,” Hyde said. “We’ll see where it is.”

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