MLB's hot stove heated up on Tuesday night, as the Orioles announced they had completed a trade with the Angels, sending starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez to Los Angeles in exchange for slugging outfielder Taylor Ward. On the surface, it appears that both teams benefit from this unique one-for-one deal.
Let‘s take a deeper dive and examine how both the Angels and Orioles fared.
Los Angeles Angels: B+
Rodriguez, the No. 11 overall pick in the 2018 draft, hasn't pitched since July of 2024, as he missed a chunk of time with a lat strain and tightness in his throwing shoulder, then missed the entire 2025 campaign after undergoing debridement surgery on his right elbow to remove bone spurs. So there's legitimate injury concern here.
However, when healthy, Rodriguez has shown the promise that once made him a tantalizing pitcher to scouts. Before his '24 season was cut short due to injury, Rodriguez was enjoying a career year, with a 3.86 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP and 130 strikeouts in 116 2/3 innings pitched. Rodriguez‘s 30.0% whiff rate ranked in the 82nd percentile and his 13.6% swinging strike rate ranked 11th among all starters during the span of his 20 starts in '24.
With a mid-to-upper 90s fastball and a changeup-slider-curveball mix of breakers, he certainly has the tools to take the next step. Plus, with lefty Tyler Anderson a free agent and righthander Kyle Hendricks announcing his retirement, the Angels needed a starter. Ward, a high-power, high-strikeout corner outfielder, had a somewhat redundant skillset with the similarly-skilled Jo Adell already entrenched at one corner outfield spot. That Los Angeles could acquire a high-upside arm such as Rodriguez, who is under contract through 2029, at the expense of their surplus of outfielders has to be considered a win for the Angels front office in the event that the 26-year-old can stay healthy.
Baltimore Orioles: C+
Ward enjoyed the best season of his career in 2025, as he posted career-highs in home runs (36) and RBI (103) in a career-best 157 games played for the Angels. The Dayton, Ohio, native was one of the best in the business at squaring up a baseball in '25, as he ranked among the top-30 sluggers in barrel rate.
The righty-hitting Ward brings some added pop and much-needed balance to the Orioles‘s lefty-heavy lineup, which posted a .661 OPS against southpaws, 22nd in MLB. It's certainly fair to wonder if Ward, who will turn 32 in December, will be able to keep up this level of production into his mid-30s, but the Orioles are certainly betting that the late-blooming outfielder will do just that.
There's no doubt that it's a potentially risky gambit. Rodriguez, a former first-round pick, showed signs of a breakout during the 2024 season, but had the promising campaign cut short due to injury, then missed the entire '25 campaign after undergoing surgery. There's a vacancy in center field, but the Orioles‘s outfield of Colton Cowser, Tyler O'Neill, Ward and top-100 prospect Dylan Beavers should be among MLB's best. But this move will be a bit of a head-scratcher if the Orioles don't add a starting pitcher or two in free agency to make up for the absence of Rodriguez.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Grading Angels-Orioles, Taylor Ward-Grayson Rodriguez Trade .
