The Orioles sent talented, injured starter Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels for power-hitting outfielder Taylor Ward.
The Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Angels pulled off a stunner Tuesday night, swapping SP Grayson Rodriguez and OF Taylor Ward. The O’s add home run power while LA adds a talented starter returning from injury.
This is a much more fascinating trade from Baltimore’s perspective, so let’s start with the Angels’ side of the deal, which is straight forward. The Halos need help across the roster, and power pitchers are tough to find. Rodriguez throws hard and has a devastating changeup, which is a somewhat unusual combination and difficult to develop. In a pretty weak rotation, it makes sense for the Angels to bet on upside in order to surprise people.
More to the point, Rodriguez is still in pre-arbitration, while Ward only has one year left of team control. MLB Trade Rumors projects him to earn $13.7 million, so the Angels are saving around $13 million while extending three more years of team control on their new starter. The Angels seemed intent on trading an outfielder this winter, and they got back more than they probably expected. This is a very shrewd move to add someone who might be more talented than they are trading away. Under GM Perry Minasian and a number of front office heads before him, the Angels often try too hard to add players, but they get top marks in this case.
Now, the harder part is understanding why the Orioles made this move, when their biggest need is starting pitchers.
Parsing Out the O’s
While the Angels have been wandering aimlessly for a decade, the Orioles have had a set trajectory. Well, until 2025. The rebuild paid off with two straight playoff appearances, but the Birds fell back below .500 this year. Their rotation was always thin, and many of the young hitters underperformed, as well. Rodriguez was inadvertently part of the problem, as his injuries mounted, and he ended up missing the whole season. Following years as an elite prospect, he showed promise in his first two MLB seasons. After a terrible debut stretch, GrayRod regrouped in the minors and came back strong with a 2.58 ERA to close 2023. He was then solid in 2024 with a 3.86 ERA and a 26% strikeout rate. At 26, there is good reason to think his best days are still ahead of him, but the injuries cloud that picture.
Trading Rodriguez for a pretty good but not great hitter must mean a couple of things. The likeliest is that the front office no longer believes Grayson will hit his ceiling. That does not seem to be the main opinion of the fanbase, but Birdland obviously knows less about how the rehab is going. What is more prescient is that PBO Mike Elias must make an even greater effort now to improve the rotation. It simply cannot be SP Trevor Rogers and a bunch of backend guys. Elias will have to spend big for good starters and maybe also trade for one. It is also possible the Orioles think Ward can take another step forward, which seems unlikely, but there are reasons to think that.
What Ward Offers
Instead of relying on a comeback, the O’s are flipping Rodriguez for more immediate help. As a boom-or-bust hitter, Ward comes with some warning signs, but there is also a lot to like in his profile. Turning 32 next month, Ward is coming off one of his better seasons. His best was 2022, when he hit .281 and posted a 136 wRC+ in 135 games. He has also dealt with injuries over the years, but not to the same extent as Rodriguez.
In 2025, Ward sold out for power, as his strikeout rate rose to a full season high of 26%, and his average fell to .228. Plus, his defense, never a strong suit, noticeably declined. He dropped from average to -3 runs saved in DRS, and OAA thinks he dropped from above average to exactly average. If you watched a random Angels game, there is a good chance you saw Ward misread a ball in the air. After left field, the only position to turn to is first or DH, but the Orioles have plenty of options there, so they will live with the mistakes on the grass.
Those are the negatives, but selling out for power worked. Ward set career highs with 36 home runs and 103 RBI in 157 games behind an isolated slug of .247, well above average. His regular old slugging percentage of .475 was also a career high, and his 11% walk rate was his best in a full season. The low batting average can partially be explained by a .257 BABIP, by far his lowest in a full season. All told, he had a 117 wRC+, better than his previous two seasons. If a few more hits fall in, Ward would be looking at an All-Star season.
Potential Impact
The Orioles struggled against lefties in 2024, so they are counting on Ward to balance out a lineup filled with lefties. This is the role OF Tyler O’Neill was supposed to fill and hopefully still can. With the more neutral wall in left field, Ward’s power should still play, and he won’t have endless ground to cover on defense.
That is why the Orioles acquired Ward, but it is still a puzzling move overall. The Birds already have a crowded group of corner bats, with C/1B Samuel Basallo, 1B Coby Mayo, and OF Dylan Beavers breaking into the lineup. That is before mentioning OF Enrique Bradfield, who has not debuted yet but should take over in centerfield. This might also mean the team is ready to move on from OF Heston Kjerstad, who flopped in the Majors this year.
But the more confusing part is trading away a very talented pitcher. As I said, the Orioles already had a thin rotation, and now it is even thinner. Rodriguez had previously shown he can pitch in MLB, and with four years of control left, this trade simply does not seem to be fair value. If the Angels threw in a near-ready pitching prospect, then it would seem more even. That said, it is November, and the vast majority of free agents are still available. If Elias goes out and signs SPs Ranger Suarez and Dylan Cease, then this is a different story.
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