ANGELS ACQUIRE RHP GRAYSON RODRIGUEZ FROM BALTIMORE
ANAHEIM – The Angels today acquired RHP Grayson Rodriguez from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for OF Taylor Ward.
Rodriguez, 26, joins the Angels for the 2026 season, after missing the 2025 season recovering from right elbow surgery to remove bone spurs. In 2024, Rodriguez went 13-4 with a 3.86 ERA (116.2 IP – 50 ER) and 130 strikeouts. In his career, Rodriguez has posted a 20-8 record and 4.11 ERA (238.2 IP – 109 ER) across 43 starts, and made at least 20 starts in each of his first two Major League seasons.
The right-hander was originally selected by Baltimore in the first round (11th overall) of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft from Central Heights HS (Nacogdoches, TX). In 2021 and 2022, Rodriguez was the top-ranked pitching prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, and was the sixth-ranked prospect overall in 2022. He also represented Baltimore at the Futures Game in 2019 and made his Major League debut with the Orioles on April 5, 2023.
Ward, 31, compiled a .247 (615/2494) average with 124 doubles, 113 home runs and 345 RBI across eight seasons with the Angels. In 2025, he hit .228 (132/579) with 31 doubles, 36 HR and 103 RBI in 157 games played. Ward was originally selected by the Angels in the first round (26th overall) in the 2015 Draft out of Fresno State University.