Good Morning Birdland,
If you went to bed at a decent time last night, you may have missed one of the more surprising Orioles moves I can recall. The O’s are trading Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels in exchange for outfielder Taylor Ward.
Independent of one another, the two pieces of this deal make sense.
Rodriguez is a huge question mark. He hasn’t played in an MLB game since July 2024, has had recurring shoulder problems, and began experiencing elbow trouble while rehabbing last summer. It is unclear
if/when he actually expects to be ready for a big league return. Could he miss all or most of 2026? It feels like it’s on the table, and that’s something this year’s Orioles team probably can’t wait on.
Ward addresses several needs the Orioles had coming into the offseason. He’s right-handed. He plays the outfield. He crushes left-handed pitching (.918 OPS in 2025). And he has impressive power (36 home runs last year). It’s a nice player to add to this lineup.
What feels incongruous are the ages of the two players and their years of team control. Rodriguez just turned 26 and won’t hit free agency until the 2029-30 offseason. Ward is about to be 32 and will hit the open market next offseason. Given the potential that Rodriguez still seems to have, it feels like an inevitability that the Orioles will “lose” this trade in terms of overall value—maybe by a wide margin—if the righty can get healthy at any point in the next 12 months.
Of course, that is a huge caveat. It’s something Mike Elias wasn’t interested in gambling on, whereas the Angels, who have no expectation of competing in the near future, have more wiggle room to take the risk.
The calculation that Elias is making is that this move will make the 2026 Orioles better. That is probably true. Ward is a good hitter, and you might expect him to be even better in a walk year. Maybe he doesn’t match his 2025 home run total, but some of his other numbers could get a bump as he jockeys for a big deal next winter. Apparently, Rodriguez is expected to be ready by spring training, but that was true last offseason as well.
Prior to this deal, Elias had made it clear that he wanted to add a “frontline” starter this winter. That has to be even more true now that Rodriguez, risky as he was, is gone. He probably needs to pad the back of the rotation too. It really is going to be a busy offseason at the warehouse.
Links
Orioles Announce Four Roster Moves | MLB Trade Rumors
The Orioles decided to protect Cameron Foster and Reed Trimble from the Rule 5 draft by adding them to the 40-man roster. Foster was no surprise. Although he is older (27), it was a logical move after the O’s traded for him back in July. Trimble is more of surprise. His prospect star has fallen in recent years, but he remains a toolsy outfield option and is coming off of an intriguing minor league season.
Nine Players Reject Qualifying Offer | MLB Trade Rumors
Anyone hoping that the O’s would sign Trent Grisham, Gleyber Torres, Brandon Woodruff, or Shota Imanaga will have to wait until next offseason. Those were the four players that accepted the $22.05 million qualifying offer and will return to their 2025 teams. The nine other players that were given the QO have rejected it. They will now become free agents and have draft pick compensation attached to them.
More on last night’s trade, Orioles protecting Foster and Trimble, mailbag leftovers for breakfast | Roch Kubatko
Roch comes to a similar conclusion as above. The Ward/Rodriguez deal is being done with a focus on 2026. It doesn’t sound like the organization felt like Rodriguez was going to be helpful in that regard. Hopefully, for him, he is able to prove otherwise with the Angels.
Four potential bargains in MLB free agency, from Tatsuya Imai to Cody Ponce | The Athletic
This is not Orioles-specific, but pieces like this can be helpful in understanding why GMs do what they do sometimes with players moves. It’s often about underlying factors that many of us don’t consider when evaluating players. To be clear, the GMs aren’t always right. Sometimes they tie themselves in knots to prove a player is good when, in fact, they are not. But still! Interesting stuff.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Cristian Pache turns 27 today. The outfielder played in just three games for the Orioles in late July of 2024. He had come over as part of the Seranthony Domínguez/Austin Hays trade with the Phillies, but was DFA’ed right after the deadline.
- Bryan Holaday is 38 years old. A journeyman catcher that played for six clubs across his 10-season MLB career, he had a 20-game pitstop with the O’s in 2020.
- Dickie Noles celebrates his 69th birthday. He pitched in two games for the 1988 Orioles.
- Larry Haney is 83 years old. From 1966 through ‘68 he was a reserve backstop with the Orioles.
This day in O’s history
1963 – Hank Bauer is named Orioles manager, replacing Billy Hitchcock. He would oversee a quick turnaround for the O’s, eventually leading them to a 1966 World Series win.
