Grayson Rodriguez believes the Orioles are a team to be feared come October.
“I don’t think anybody wants to face us,” Rodriguez said. “Especially when everybody’s back and moving at full gear, I think a lot of guys are confident in that.”
Rodriguez took a step Wednesday toward helping the Orioles become that team he envisions this postseason. The right-hander threw his first bullpen session since suffering his shoulder muscle injury a month ago, a positive sign as the Orioles hope their No. 2 starter can return from the injured list before the end of the regular season.
“Arm’s feeling good,” Rodriguez said. “I think right now that’s the most important thing is being able to get back up on the mound, let it eat a couple times.”
Rodriguez threw 20 pitches during the session in Camden Yards’ bullpen, mixing in offspeed pitches with his fastball. The last time he threw off a mound was before he suffered the right lat/teres muscle injury while warming up for his start against the Blue Jays in Toronto on Aug. 6.
“I thought everything felt good,” he said. “The ball was spinning well.”
Rodriguez expects to throw another bullpen session soon. It’s still unclear, he said, when he could begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment or make his first start back in the big leagues. Only three weeks remain in Triple-A Norfolk’s season, and the Orioles have just 22 games left before the playoffs.
“I think everything will work out just fine, especially with the way I’m feeling right now,” he said. “I think it’ll take care of itself.”
But a bullpen session starts the clock on Rodriguez’s potential return as he and the Orioles are running up against the calendar before the beginning of the postseason Oct. 1.
“Obviously you want to get back out there as fast as you can, but first and foremost just making sure you’re healthy,” he said. “So that way you can make a few starts and then the postseason instead of rush back and set yourself back a little bit further. Right now, everything’s feeling good and just waiting to get back out there.”
Coulombe confident he’s close
Rodriguez is one of three players the Orioles are hoping can return later this month. Infielder Jordan Westburg and reliever Danny Coulombe are the others.
Coulombe on Tuesday threw a live bullpen session, facing Nick Maton, Livan Soto and Coby Mayo. The veteran lefty guessed he threw about 15 to 20 pitches and said he’s “pretty happy” with how he feels two and a half months after having surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow.
“That’s definitely the goal,” Coulombe said about rejoining the Orioles before the end of the regular season. “I think as long as it keeps trending the way it is, absolutely. But it’s a day-by-day thing, surgery is a tricky thing.
“I can’t wait to be back. I can’t wait to play baseball again.”
Manager Brandon Hyde said his hope with Rodriguez, Coulombe and the rest of his players on the IL is that there are “no setbacks.”
“They’re both right on track and progressing to what their calendar was supposed to look like,” Hyde said. “Hopefully we get ‘em back.”
“There’s a lot of guys that are close,” Rodriguez said. “I think everybody’s champing at the bit to get back out there. Obviously, you don’t want to be on the IL. The days go by slow. … I think we can really help the team out.”
Most of the Orioles’ injured players are with the team in Baltimore this week, including pitchers Félix Bautista, John Means, Tyler Wells and Kyle Bradish — all of whom are out for the season after undergoing elbow surgery in the past year. Rodriguez said having them back with the team has energized the club, which entered Wednesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox on a three-game winning streak — its first since mid-July.
“It’s a lot of fun to hear the chirps in the dugout going back and forth. Me and Bradish have been at it for the last two days,” Rodriguez said with a smile. “It’s fun to have that edge in the clubhouse again.”
Around the horn
• Outfielder Heston Kjerstad has cleared MLB’s concussion protocol, Hyde said, and will begin his minor league rehab assignment soon. Kjerstad was placed on the IL in mid-July after he was hit by a pitch in the head. He returned a week later and struggled at the plate after spending the beginning of the summer as one of the Orioles’ best hitters. After he was optioned back to Triple-A, he reported to the team that concussion symptoms had returned, and he was placed on Baltimore’s 10-day IL.
• Starting pitcher Dean Kremer threw a bullpen session Wednesday, Hyde said, as he works to avoid a stint on the IL and attempts to make his scheduled start this weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays. Kremer took a line drive off his forearm during his start Saturday. He avoided a fracture, but he suffered a nasty bruise. Hyde said the club wants to see how Kremer’s arm responds Thursday before determining the next step.
Baltimore Sun reporter Matt Weyrich contributed to this article.
