Orioles trade right-hander Grayson Rodriguez angels outfielder Tyler Ward. The Angels also announced the deal. Rodriguez missed the entire 2025 season with multiple arm injuries. Ward will become a free agent after 2026.
In a day filled with minor trades and roster shuffles, Baltimore and Los Angeles saved the best for last. The Orioles are shipping one of the most promising teams since the league dylan bundy/Kevin Gausman era. Rodriguez has excelled at times since his debut in 2023, but injuries have marred his career. The 26-year-old missed time last year with shoulder inflammation and a lat strain. A shoulder injury will cost him half of 2024. Injuries limited his minor league appearances to 75 2/3 innings in 2022 and threatened to delay his major league debut.
Rodriguez will be under team control until 2029. Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias told reporters in September that the right-hander was expected to be ready for spring training. Last week, Elias told reporters, including The Baltimore Standard’s Andy Kostka, that Rodriguez “Providing a real wild card for our talent“. Elias will now play that card and make Rodriguez a reliable power bat for the year.
Ward hit a career-high 36 home runs last season. Since becoming a regular in 2022, the 31-year-old has hit 98 home runs with good home run discipline and good run efficiency. Ward’s batting average slipped to .228 last season, but his slugging percentage jumped to a career-high .475. He scored 100 or more runs for the first time as a major leaguer and had a career-high 86 runs scored.
MLBTR writer Matt Swartz projects Ward will make $13.7MM in his final year of arbitration. He was a first-round pick by the Angels in 2015. Ward excelled as a minor league pitcher at every level, reaching Triple-A by 2018. He hit .352/.442/.537 with Salt Lake City and earned a major league call-up at the end of the season. Ward played 40 games with the Angels before eventually returning to the Bees. He bounced between the two levels for several seasons before finally solidifying himself with the major league club in 2022. Ward hit 23 home runs in 135 games with Los Angeles, finishing his first full MLB season with a 136 wRC+.
Ward started as a catcher, but as he progressed through the Angels’ system, he moved to the corner infield spot. In his early days in Major League Baseball, he primarily played third base and later moved to the outfield. Ward has spent time in center field and right field, but has played exclusively in left field since 2023. He will join an inconsistent outfield mix that includes Colton Cowser, Tyler O’Nealand Lady Taveras. youth group Dylan Beavers and Heston Shellstad will also be involved, although the addition of Ward will be another obstacle to their consistent batting.
Ward’s departure leaves Angels with Joe Adell, Jorge Soleras well as some question marks in the outfield. and Mike Trout DH’s outfield options include Gustavo Campello, Blaise Teodosioand Matthew Lugo. best prospect Nelson Rada It’s also possible to compete for a roster spot.
Rodriguez’s tenure with the club, which drafted him 11th overall in 2018, came to a surprising end. He quickly rose to prominence in the minors, with a ton of strikeouts catapulting him to the top of the rookie list. MLB.com ranks Rodriguez just behind Adley Rutschmann He entered Baltimore’s system back in 2022 while ranking sixth overall among all prospects. He was the highest-ranked pitcher on the plate.
Rodriguez didn’t break out in the major leagues, posting a just 7.35 ERA in his first 10 starts. He was sent back to Triple-A to regroup and came back with a vengeance. Rodriguez had a 2.58 ERA in 13 starts since being recalled. He fixed the control issues that caused problems in his first game while striking out nearly a batter per inning. Rodriguez was bombarded by the Rangers in the ALDS, but the final three months of the regular season showed Baltimore has their ace in the hole for the future.
During the 2024 season, Rodriguez increased his strikeout rate to 26.5% while dropping his walk rate to 7.3%. In May, he had his first double-digit strikeout game against Boston, with 10 strikeouts. Rodriguez won 13 of 20 starts before a shoulder problem ended his season in August. A quality start and win against Toronto on the last day of July would be his final start with the team.
Baltimore’s rotation will consist of Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish Enter 2026. Dean Kramer Has been a reliable source of innings, but apart from him, the selection has been less consistent. Taylor Wells Expected to return to starting position after recovering from surgery at UCL late last season. Cade Povich He has made 36 starts over the past two seasons but has a career ERA of over 5.00. Brandon Young and Chase McDermott They’ve also struggled with limited major league opportunities. The Orioles added like Zach Eflin, Charlie Mortonand Kyle Gibson Helped eat up innings in the past two seasons. They will likely reinvest in their pitching staff this offseason to fill out the rotation.
