The Baltimore Orioles shocked, well, pretty much everyone late on Tuesday night when they struck a trade with the Los Angeles Angels. The Orioles acquired outfielder Taylor Ward who hit 36 home runs last year. Assuming Ward's hit tool trends upward, he could be a valuable part of Baltimore's lineup heading into next season. The bad news, however, is that the Orioles had to give up Grayson Rodriguez in order to execute the trade.
Banking on a Rodriguez bounce-back in 2026 may have been a bad bet from the get-go. As good as Rodriguez can be when he's on the mound, the litany of injury issues he's dealt with throughout his career raised real concerns.