ANAHEIM -- Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez reached a milestone in his recovery from right shoulder inflammation, as he faced hitters for the first time since Spring Training before Monday’s 5-2 loss to the Blue Jays at Angel Stadium.
Rodriguez, who was first diagnosed with his shoulder ailment in mid-March, came away encouraged after he threw roughly 30 pitches in two simulated innings against Vaughn Grissom, Bryce Teodosio and first base coach Adam Eaton. The 26-year-old knows he’ll have to continue to build up his pitch count before he joins the rotation, but it was a good sign for him.
“It's a big step,” Rodriguez said. “Obviously, when you’re out for a long period of time not getting to see hitters, it's disappointing. But finally getting hitters back in the box and getting that adrenaline going felt really nice.”
Rodriguez, acquired in an offseason trade that sent Taylor Ward to the Orioles, came into Spring Training healthy after missing last year due to injury, including having bone spurs removed from his right elbow last August. But after building up, including posting a 4.97 ERA with 12 strikeouts and 10 walks in 12 2/3 preseason innings, he was shut down in mid-March.
Rodriguez said his throwing program has gone according to plan and has also helped him regain some command after having trouble with issuing walks in Cactus League play.
“The stuff is there,” Rodriguez said. “I’m really happy with where that's at. I had really good stuff in Spring Training, and I think the command was the issue there. But from having these down weeks and having some bullpens to work on some stuff, I think the command is a lot better than what it was during spring.”
Angels manager Kurt Suzuki watched Rodriguez’s session and came away impressed by what he saw. He said they’re still determining his next step, but it’s likely to be facing hitters again with a higher pitch count. Rodriguez, though, doesn’t seem too far away from a rehab assignment if things continue to progress.
“It was really good,” Suzuki said. “Obviously coming over in a big trade, and watching him in Spring Training, we were really excited, and now he’s worked his way back. I was watching his bullpens leading up to this and you could see him progressively start climbing. And to go against hitters, I think the juices were flowing a little bit.”
Rodriguez last pitched in the Majors in 2024, when he had a 3.86 ERA and 130 strikeouts and 36 walks in 116 2/3 innings. It came after his rookie season that saw him post a 4.35 ERA with 129 strikeouts and 42 walks in 122 innings.
He dealt with a lat strain in ‘24, but Rodriguez said he believes his bone spurs had an adverse effect on his mechanics because he’d been dealing with them since he was in the Minor Leagues. But the Angels still plan to be cautious with Rodriguez, given that he didn’t pitch last year and remains under team control for four seasons through 2029.
“We'll see how he feels coming out of it,” Suzuki said. “Obviously you don't want to rush him too much. We’ll talk about what the next steps are. But he looked good for two innings today. So that's definitely a good start.”