Grayson Rodriguez will not be in the Orioles Opening Day rotation mix next year. He won’t be in the organization at all. The Orioles announced a surprise trade of the once-top prospect pitcher on Tuesday night, shipping Rodriguez to the Angels for outfielder Taylor Ward.

Rodriguez has not thrown a pitch in an MLB game since July 31, 2024. He battled dueling elbow and lat injuries that recurred through 2025, eventually getting surgery for bone chips in his throwing elbow. Mike Elias didn’t sound like he was planning to have Rodriguez in his rotation and now he surely won’t. As a quick, knee-jerk reaction, I think the Orioles are way more down on Rodriguez bouncing back from that surgery and overcoming his past lat injuries than we ever realized.

The reason why it’s clear they’re down on R

See Full Page