The Los Angeles Angels traded veteran outfielder Taylor Ward to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for right-handed pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, the team announced Tuesday night. It’s a one-for-one deal that ends an eight-year Angels tenure for Ward and adds an intriguing young piece to the starting rotation.
Rodriguez, 26, was the Orioles’ 11th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. He spent five years in the organization before making his Major League debut on April 5, 2023. He has pitched two years at the MLB level, showing improvement that should excite any Angels fan.
In the 2024 season, Rodriguez pitched 116.2 innings and posted a 3.86 ERA, 1.243 WHIP, 3.66 FIP, 100 ERA+ and 130 strikeouts. He missed the final two months of that season, and the entire 2025 season, with a combination of lat injuries, elbow inflammation and, finally, an elbow clean-up surgery in August of last year.
He is expected to be ready to go for Spring Training in 2026. He is also under team-control through the 2029 season, as he is at just over two seasons of eligible service time. He’s an exciting piece for the Angels to acquire, as they are in desperate need of starting pitching this offseason. Prior to the deal, the Angels only had Yusei Kikuchi, Jose Soriano and Reid Detmers as penciled in starters.
As for Ward, he heads to Baltimore after eight years with the Angels and 10 years in the organization. He was drafted in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft, and made his MLB debut with the club on Aug. 14, 2018. It took him some time to find his footing, but rattled off four productive seasons — when healthy — from 2022 to 2025.
He slashed .228/.317/.475/.792 with a 116 OPS+, 36 home runs and 103 RBI in 2025, his second-best season as a pro at age 31. He adds some much-needed pop to an Orioles lineup that struggled mightily last season. They ranked 21st in OPS as a team and struck out the fourth-most times in baseball.
Ward should slot in perfectly as a starting outfielder and middle-of-the-order bat for the Orioles.
Angels early projected 26-man roster
There remain plenty of updates to make to the projected Opening Day roster, but here is where things stand after the Ward-Rodriguez trade.
Pitchers
Sam Bachman
Brock Burke
Caden Dana (S)
Reid Detmers (S)
Mitch Farris
Jose Fermin
Yusei Kikuchi (S)
Jack Kochanowicz
Grayson Rodriguez (S)
Chase Silseth
Jose Soriano (S)
Robert Stephenson
Walbert Urena
Catchers
Travis d’Arnuad
Logan O’Hoppe (S)
Infielders
Denzer Guzman (S)
Christian Moore (S)
Zach Neto (S)
Oswald Peraza
Nolan Schanuel (S)
Outfielders
Jo Adell (S)
Gustavo Campero (S)
Matthew Lugo
Jorge Soler (S)
Bryce Teodosio
Mike Trout (S)
