Orioles’ innings limits for likes of John Means, Grayson Rodriguez won’t be ‘hard and fast’

Among the most significant questions facing the Orioles’ rotation as the 2023 season nears is how many innings they’ll get out of arguably their most talented pitchers. The

team itself is without an answer less than a month until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota, Florida, for spring training. During a segment with 105.7 The Fan on

Friday, executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said Baltimore won’t have defined innings limits for pitchers John Means, Grayson Rodriguez, DL Hall and Tyler

Wells. All but Means, recovering from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery, are candidates to be in the season-opening rotation. “I think the limits are not going to be

hard and fast, and we’re going to be smart about how we work these guys,” Elias said. “We’re gonna look at things on a case-by-case basis, and I think that’s gonna depend on where

the team’s at, where the pitchers themselves are at.” Baltimore’s opening day starter the previous two seasons, Means made only two starts in 2022 before undergoing the

season-ending procedure in April. He isn’t expected to rejoin the Orioles’ rotation until midseason. One of baseball’s top pitching prospects, Rodriguez didn’t make his

major league debut in 2022 after a right lat muscle strain cost him three months. At the end of the season, Elias said there’s “a very high likelihood” Rodriguez makes the

Orioles’ rotation out of spring training, a possibility that would net the team an extra draft pick if he wins American League Rookie of the Year. The 23-year-old right-hander

threw only 75 2/3 innings after a career-high 103 in 2021.