The Orioles have apparently given up on former top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez and any realistic hopes of him staying healthy.
In a surprising move announced late Tuesday night, Baltimore traded the 26-year-old right-hander to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for outfielder Taylor Ward, who turns 32 next month and will be entering a contract year after setting career highs with 36 home runs and 103 RBIs this past season. Rodriguez remains under club control for the Angels through 2029.
Of course, availability has been a major problem for the talented Rodriguez, who missed the entire 2025 season due to elbow and lat injuries and hasn’t pitched in a game since July 31, 2024. The 2018 first-round pick has dealt with multiple lat strains going back to his final minor-league season in 2022. Rodriguez missing all of last season was always going to make it challenging to determine how he’d fit into the pitching plans for 2026 with Baltimore needing to rebound from a disappointing last-place season.
In 43 starts covering 238 2/3 innings for the Orioles, Rodriguez pitched to a 4.11 ERA and averaged 9.8 strikeouts per nine frames pitched. He started and took the loss in Game 2 of the 2023 AL Division Series after an excellent second half to his rookie season.
“The poor guy’s missed a year and two months basically, and we’ve got to be mindful of that,” president of baseball operations Mike Elias said at last week’s general managers meetings. “I think he’s a really nice wild-card talent for us, and I’m really optimistic and bullish about it. But the fact that he’s missed so much time recently, we just have to be prudent about that.”
While the Orioles couldn’t afford to count on Rodriguez as a foundational part of the 2026 rotation and always needed to look for high-impact outside additions, they’re still giving up on a ton of potential long-term value for only one year of Ward, who addresses the need for a starting-caliber outfielder. Frankly, it’s a trade that’s difficult to defend unless the Orioles are thoroughly convinced Rodriguez isn’t likely to stay healthy moving forward. For what it’s worth, Elias recently confirmed Rodriguez is expected to be ready for the start of spring training after undergoing surgery to have a bone spur removed from his pitching elbow in August.
Projected to make roughly $13 million in his final year of arbitration, the right-handed Ward has blossomed into a solid everyday player in recent years and batted .228 with career highs in walks (75) and strikeouts (175) to go with a .792 on-base plus slugging percentage in 2025. Ward has played defense exclusively in left field in recent years.
In eight major league seasons all spent with the Angels, Ward owns a career slash line of .247/.327/.439 with 113 home runs.
Barring any other trades, Ward’s arrival likely signals the Orioles having confidence in Colton Cowser playing extensively in center field moving forward. Cowser saw everyday time there over the final seven weeks of 2025 after the departure of former All-Star center fielder Cedric Mullins at the trade deadline.
