Question: What is the mystery surrounding Grayson Rodriguez? What appeared to be a 1-to-2-month injury in March has been extended to who knows how long? He sought a second opinion and nothing came from that. Is the team as frustrated with him as I am? From: Larry Schultz

Answer: Larry, I also got a similar question from Jeff Poling. I think the Orioles very badly want the 25-year-old starting pitcher back on the mound.

Last week, Mike Elias said this about Rodriguez: ““He’s really close to throwing. His return is still not something I want to script out with a date. Given that he had an elbow injury and a lat injury in the same calendar year, we don’t want to rush.”

The hope is that Rodriguez will be ready for the second half of the season.

Question: The O’s are designating players for assignment recently. Can you explain the bottom line impact when a player is DFA’d please? From: John Hall

Answer: John, if a player is put on waivers and claimed, then the claiming team is responsible for the salary. If a player passes through waivers and is released, then the Orioles are responsible for the salary.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: [email protected]. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.