SARASOTA, Fla. — Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez received a cortisone injection in his elbow to alleviate inflammation, manager Brandon Hyde said. Rodriguez will be shut down from throwing for a week to 10 days, and after that he will begin a throwing progression.

It was clear Friday that Rodriguez would miss opening day, but the best-case timeline illustrated Sunday confirms that he will miss time into the regular season.

“Timeline after a week, I’m not really sure at this point,” Hyde said. “We’ll see how it goes. But we’re giving him a week to not throw and let the cortisone do what it does.”

The update is the latest in a string of worrisome symptoms for Rodriguez, a 25-year-old pitcher expected to be a major piece of Baltimore’s rotation. He first experienced sluggishness during his second start of the spring last week, and his fastball was devoid of the life it generally exhibits. The next day, Rodriguez reported to the training staff that he felt soreness in his right triceps, and that became discomfort on the back of his arm, where the triceps connects to the elbow.

Hyde maintains that Rodriguez doesn’t have a ligament issue.

“We’re hoping he responds well to it [the cortisone] and he’s able to start throwing again here in a week to two weeks,” Hyde said.

Rodriguez pitched to a 3.86 ERA last season in 116 2/3 innings, and he missed time through right shoulder inflammation and a right lat/teres strain. The latter ailment prematurely ended his season, and now his elbow inflammation will delay his start. Hyde described Rodriguez as “disappointed.”

“His goal was to make 30-plus starts this year, and that’s going to be challenging at this point,” Hyde said. “I think he wants to pitch, so for him to have this time off — we need to get him healthy. That’s the bottom line. He’s really important to us. And hopefully he comes back as soon as possible."

Baltimore has experienced several key pitching injuries dating to last year. In a month’s span of 2024, left-hander John Means and right-handers Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells underwent Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery. Prior to Bradish’s surgery, he received a platelet-rich-plasma injection to his throwing elbow that allowed him to pitch through a ligament issue for 39 1/3 innings.

What Rodriguez received is different than the PRP injection for Bradish. A cortisone injection reduces inflammation; the purpose of a PRP injection is to speed the healing process.

In addition to Rodriguez’s injury, Baltimore will be without right-hander Andrew Kittredge for multiple months after he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery to clean the cartilage in the area. The setback leaves the Orioles without their lone bullpen addition this offseason; they signed Kittredge on a one-year deal worth $10 million.