We've Got Trades! MLB Hot Stove Season Is Here With The Orioles Trading Grayson Rodriguez To The Angels For Taylor Ward
My jaw dropped when this came across my desk last night, a straight up 1-for-1 trade of Grayson Rodriguez for Angels slugger Taylor Ward. You rarely see the 1-for-1 trades in baseball but we got a pretty big one last night. The O's moved the former top pitching prospect for Ward who is expected to hold down left field for Baltimore. How and why could the Orioles trade their 2018 first round pick for a 31-year old OF who is a free agent after this year? Injuries. As much as I hate to say it, injuries. You won't find a bigger Grayson Rodriguez fan than me, that's my guy. He's a great dude and a hell of a pitcher when healthy, but thats the hangup.
He showed some us some great stuff in 2023 and 2024 but he last pitched in the bigs on July 31st, 2024. Before a start vs the Blue Jays he said something didn't feel right and he hasn't pitched since. He's had a number of arm/shoulder/elbow/lat injuries and can't stay on the field. Best ability is availability, that's what they taught me. It sucks he wasn't able to have the career we thought he would have in Baltimore, the O's acted quick and sold on him while they could. That's baseball.
Just last week POBO Mike Elias said that he would be a wild-card for this club as they prepared to bounce back from a dreadful last year, now he's in LA. What this trade does do is immediately make the 2026 Orioles better. They are better with Taylor Ward in left, we just don't know what this year was going to be for Grayson. So while Rodriguez is under contract until 2029 and still arb eligible, they thought they could get more value from Ward this year than they could get from Grayson and I think that's the right call. Obviously the Orioles do need pitching help, we just don't know if Grayson was going to be able to be relied upon for that this season. Ward stays healthy and mashes, the O's need that. This also shows me that the Orioles WILL go out and make other pitching moves, they have to. This move cements it. It also shows me that Elias and the front office aren't worried about 2028 and 2029, they're committed to trying to win this year. With Ward being able to walk after this season, they're hoping to cash in on the power hitter in a contract year. Those guys tend to mash in those situations.
The O's have a fully revamped hitting and coaching staff and my guess is they looked at Ward's average and chase rate and said they could fix it. He walks a lot and hits homers, that is what the Orioles need. It sucks it came at the expense of a guy like Gas Can Grayson but it had to be done. No one knew how healthy he would be and if he could contribute at all in 2026, the injuries kept mounting and mounting and my guess is the O's front office didn't think it was worth it to keep waiting. Could this be Jake Arrieta 2.0? Absolutely, but it also could be Mark Trumbo 2.0 for the Orioles. Ward fills a massive hole that the Orioles had, now they also still need pitching but like I've said, we don't know what G-Rod was going to be this year.
The upside for the Angels is there, if Grayson can get and stay healthy he's a dominant pitcher. There is also the chance that doesn't happen, lot of risk there too. We've seen these high school pitchers rack up injuries and not fully turn into what we thought they'd be. I hope that isn't the case here with Grayson but I fully understand why the Orioles took this shot. They got a legit righty bat in Ward and will plug him into a lineup that needed a veteran. I hope it's a win-win for both, we'll see. Hot stove season does get me fired up, I love to see the O's being proactive and making moves, now go add 2-3 other arms to go with Trevor Rodgers and Kyle Bradish.