On November 18, the first big trade of the 2025-26 MLB offseason went down. The Orioles traded Grayson Rodriguez, a valuable young starter who’s dealt with numerous injuries over the past two seasons, to the Angels. In exchange, the O’s added power-hitting outfielder Taylor Ward.
The Angels’ Return
- SP Grayson Rodriguez (Did not pitch in 2025)
The last time Grayson Rodriguez pitched on an MLB mound was July 31, 2024. Since then, the 26-year-old has been in the midst of a tough stretch of injuries.
Rodriguez, a former first-rounder, made his MLB debut back in 2023. The right-hander scuffled early on but turned his season around and was one of baseball’s best pitchers over the second half of that season. Rodriguez struck out 73 over 76 innings, only allowed three home runs, and posted a 2.58 ERA.
The now-Angels pitcher was very good the following year, co-captaining a rotation alongside Corbin Burnes. Rodriguez struck out 130 over 116 innings, had Chase% and Whiff% rates north of 30%, and won 13 games. Then, things came off the wheel for Rodriguez.
He went on the IL in August with lat/teres major discomfort, months after dealing with shoulder discomfort. And this past season, Rodriguez didn’t even pitch in a regular-season game. He only worked three innings in the spring but was shut down with triceps soreness.
Rodriguez then missed months on the IL before he underwent season-ending surgery to remove excess bone from his elbow.
When the 26-year-old was healthy, Rodriguez showed the makings of an ace. The new Angels pitcher showcased a booming fastball, one that sat in the upper-to-mid-90s with life and carrying action.
Rodriguez also displayed plus extension when it came to his release. His 7.3 inches of extension ranked well above the league average in 2024, and Rodriguez went as deep as 7.9 inches.
Before Rodriguez went on the IL in August 2024, he ranked among the top 15 of the league in swings-and-misses off the four-seam fastball (123). And, that pitched mixed very well with a dominant changeup, one that sat in the low-to-mid-80s, separation that was over 10 MPH between the fastball.
Those were Rodriguez’s two main pitches in 2024. Rodriguez used a sweeper in 2023 but ditched it in 2024. Instead, he used more of his gyro slider, a pitch that saw some but not a lot of usage in his rookie campaign.
He also used a harder curveball, one that averaged in the low-80s, roughly 15% of the time in 2024.
Rodriguez has four more years of team control.
The Orioles’ Return
- OF Taylor Ward (.228/.317/.475, 36 HR over 663 PA)
The Angels had two outfielders in the top 15 of the league in home runs: Jo Adell and Taylor Ward.
Ward, a first-rounder a decade ago for the Angels as a catcher, carved out a nice career as a corner outfielder. The 31-year-old had two 20+ home run campaigns before a career season this past year, one that saw him hit 36 home runs and 69 extra-base hits for the Angels.
A right-handed hitter, Ward is not a traditional power hitter in the sense that A) he doesn’t possess above-average bat speed and B) is not a pull hitter. Sure, Ward can pull baseballs. But on the other hand, he can take the ball the other way, seeing it through deep and pushing it.
Ward has been above-average in his career, roughly two and a half percentage points, when it comes to pushing the ball to the opposite field.
Aside from his strength, Ward is a very patient hitter. He posted an above-average 20.7% Chase% last season and walked 11.3% of the time. That walk figure was good for the top 50 of the league, among the 242 players with at least 350 plate appearances.
Defensively, Ward has ranged from being an average to slightly above-average over the past few years. Ward had a +4 OAA in 2024 and a 0 OAA in 2025.
Ward has one year of team control left.
Analysis
Chasing pitching depth can also prove to be elusive, for many reasons. However, the Orioles‘ rotation — at least heading into 2026 — looked better compared to how it looked in 2025.
The O’s were not only without Rodriguez but also Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells. Both ended the 2025 season healthy. Not to mention, the Orioles also have Dean Kremer, Trevor Rogers — who was one of baseball’s best pitchers last season — and some interesting pitchers down in the farm.
Baltimore dealt away a very good pitcher in Rodriguez. But in return, the O’s added an outfielder who does bring a lot to the table. Ward is the kind of hitter who could work well in Baltimore, with his ability to drive the ball to all fields and get on base.
The O’s had trouble getting outfield production this past season, thanks in part to Tyler O’Neill missing most of the year and Colton Cowser‘s down 2025 campaign. For reference, Cowser slashed just .196/.269/.385 and had the worst K% (35.6%) among hitters with 350+ plate appearances.
As for the Angels, Los Angeles came into the offseason very thin in the starting rotation. While the Angels do have two good starters in Jose Soriano and Yusei Kikuchi, there wasn’t a ton of depth behind those two. Many of the potential back-end options included rookies and unproven pitchers.
Rodriguez, when healthy, showed #1-#2 starter potential. At 26 years of age and with multiple years of control, he’s the kind of pitcher who could be a good building block alongside a young troupe of hitters.
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