Pitcher Grayson Rodriguez is hopeful he’ll take the mound for the Orioles this season, but he does not know what’s causing his lat injuries.

He is throwing every day and hopes to pitch a bullpen session next week, but he will likely require a long rehab assignment, so a return is not imminent.

“I don’t really have a week or anything specific, but yeah, definitely going to pitch this year,” he said.

This latest flare-up — his third in four years — came as he was rehabbing another injury. Initially, Rodriguez was placed on the injured list in March with elbow inflammation after he felt sluggish in a spring training start against the Twins. Former manager Brandon Hyde said it was not a ligament issue, and Rodriguez got a cortisone shot, but as he was bouncing back from that injury he started to feel the lat creep in again.

An MRI revealed a mild lat strain, and he was shut down again. Rodriguez also had a lat injury in 2022 when he was in the minor leagues and had two stints on the injured list for this issue last year, resulting in his season ending in July.

To narrow down what’s causing this recurring issue, Rodriguez is keeping a log of everything that aggravates it.

“We’re trying to just eliminate and figure out why it keeps happening,” he said Friday, his first time speaking to the media since his last spring training start. “I think that’s a very hard thing to figure out, whether it’s mechanics or it’s some type of lifting program in the weight room. It’s just kind of hard to put your finger on it.”

When healthy last year, in his second season, Rodriguez was strong, pitching to a 3.86 ERA in 20 starts. He was expected to be a major part of the Orioles’ rotation this season. General manager Mike Elias felt confident that Rodriguez, who has not pitched a full major league season, would help fill the hole left by Corbin Burnes, who signed with Arizona. Instead, with Rodriguez sidelined, the Orioles rotation has slogged to a 5.23 ERA, the fourth highest in MLB.

He said sitting on the sidelines, watching the team struggle, has been tough.

“I mean mentally that’s probably the hardest part is not being able to be out there with the guys. You know, you show up every day and you want to play, and when you’re on the IL, I mean, it’s just the worst thing. ... I’d say mentally it’s pretty hard, just being able to show up and know that you’re not going to pitch this week or something like that, but just I guess grinding through it is all you can do and just focus on getting better and getting back out there.”