The Baltimore Orioles traded right-hander Grayson Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Angels for outfielder Taylor Ward late Tuesday night, marking the first significant MLB offseason deal. Rodriguez, a former top prospect hampered by injuries, heads to the Angels with three years of team control, while Ward provides Baltimore with a right-handed bat to balance its lineup. The move highlights the Orioles' concerns over Rodriguez's durability after he missed the entire 2025 season.
The trade, announced late Tuesday, saw the Orioles send 26-year-old Grayson Rodriguez, the No. 11 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, to the Angels in exchange for 31-year-old outfielder Taylor Ward. Rodriguez has not pitched in a major league game since July 31, 2024, missing the 2025 season due to elbow debridement surgery in August 2024 and recurring lat and teres issues. His injury history includes a three-month lat strain in 2022, shoulder inflammation early in 2024, a lat flare-up in April 2024, and an elbow issue in July 2024. Over his first two MLB seasons (2023-2024), Rodriguez posted a 4.11 ERA in 43 starts, improving to 3.86 ERA in 20 outings in 2024 before injuries sidelined him.
Ward, a 2015 first-round pick who has spent his entire eight-year career with the Angels, brings immediate offensive value. In 2025, he set career highs with 36 home runs, 103 RBIs, and 31 doubles while hitting .228 with a .792 OPS in 157 games. He has slugged 98 home runs over the past four seasons in 545 games and excels against left-handed pitching, batting .262 with a .918 OPS since 2023. Ward's 20.7% chase rate ranked in the 92nd percentile in MLB last year. A career .247 hitter, he has primarily played left field (433 games) but has experience in right (195 games), center (19 games), and third base (46 games).
For the Orioles, who finished 75-87 in 2025, Ward addresses a need for right-handed hitting after ranking 23rd in average (.231) and 22nd in OPS (.661) against lefties. He joins an outfield mix including Colton Cowser, potentially in center, along with Tyler O'Neill, Dylan Beavers, and Heston Kjerstad in the corners. Leody Taveras signed a one-year, $2 million deal on November 6. President of baseball operations Mike Elias noted the team's realistic approach to Rodriguez's availability: "You miss a year and two months and we’ve got to be realistic about that, it’s not something that we’re planning around very heavily. This guy hasn’t pitched since August 2024, and planning around that is something that we’ve got to hedge against."
The Orioles' rotation now features Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers at the top, with Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells, and Cade Povich as likely starters, plus depth from Albert Suárez and Brandon Young. Baltimore remains active in pursuing additional pitching via free agency or trade.
