Takeaways from a trade that shook up Baltimore

The Orioles had a question mark in the outfield, a query resolved with the acquisition of the slugging Taylor Ward. 

The manner in which they acquired Ward left many with new questions. 

Baltimore sent Grayson Rodriguez, the former top pitching prospect in the game, to Los Angeles in a one-for-one swap for Ward. Rodriguez, the 11th overall pick in the 2018 draft, hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2024 after missing all of last season with a laundry list of injuries. 

Something about opening some doors and closing others. 

Let’s start on the Ward side of things, where the O’s have shored up their outfield group for 2026. The 31-year-old, with just one year of team control remaining, has quietly put together a rock-solid stretch of seasons in Los Angeles, averaging over 136 games played with a .783 OPS, .251 batting average, 24.5 home runs, 24.3 doubles and 72.5 runs driven in per year since 2022. 

A lineup in need of another middle-of-the-order bat got just that. Last season, Ward set new career bests in home runs with 36 and runs driven in with 103. With that power production and tendency to lift the ball came a high 26.4 percent strikeout rate, though the outfielder was in the 82nd percentile in walk rate and 92nd percentile in chase rate. 

Outside of the home run potential, a notable feature of Ward’s game is his reliability. The former first-round pick appeared in 157 games last season after playing 156 the year before. That’s a trait the O’s have woefully lacked. 

As for where he slots in the outfield, Ward could find himself manning right field with Dylan Beavers and Tyler O’Neill in left and Colton Cowser in center. Beavers and O’Neill both posted higher sprint speeds than Ward last season, and may be better suited for navigating left field at Camden Yards. Cowser’s range in center was above average last season, and his cannon of an arm doesn’t hurt, either. 

If the Orioles had looked instead to free agency for outfield help, they'd have found the pickings relatively slim. The top outfielders in the class both figure to make more than $30 million per season, and a B tier may only include Harrison Bader, Ryan O’Hearn and Mike Yastrzemski. Ward, if he were a free agent, would have an argument to be placed at the top of that group’s power rankings. 

From here, the O’s will more than likely turn a majority of their offseason attention to the pitching staff, a group that just went from thin to thinner with Ward’s trade price. 

Rodriguez, though, may not have been part of the 2026 calculus to begin with. 

The oft-injured righty hasn’t appeared in a big league game since July 2024. He missed all of 2025 with issues surrounding his elbow and latissimus, with elbow surgery eventually ending his season. Though a healthy start to spring training wasn’t out of the question, relying on him to be a crucial piece of next year’s rotation wouldn’t have been a safe bet to make. 

The reactions to this trade, though, had less to do with 2026 and more to do with the future. Rodriguez, freshly 26 years old, is under team control until 2030. And in those years to come, the flamethrower could fulfill his potential to become the ace that was promised. 

That was always the conversation surrounding the young pitcher. When the O’s were in the trenches of a rebuild, names like Rodriguez, Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, DL Hall and Colton Cowser promised a brighter future. Eventually, Rodriguez, Rutschman and Henderson separated themselves, becoming top-10 prospects in the game. 

Rodriguez was viewed as the future anchor of the rotation in Baltimore. But injuries clouded that path, and now, that possibility is no more. 

As for what changes in the rotation without Rodriguez, the 2026 approach to roster construction doesn’t change much. A front-line starter to pair with Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers still makes sense, as does adding back-end depth. Perhaps Ward’s acquisition, and thus potentially foregoing a bigger signing in the outfield, gives Baltimore even more flexibility to sign pitching. 

Rodriguez was always an unknown variable in that equation. 

More than likely, the 2026 Orioles got better. Ward has been a consistently good player for four straight seasons while Rodriguez has struggled to stay on the field. How the future that stems from this deal pans out remains to be seen. 

Rodriguez still has a chance to become the ace he was meant to be, but it won’t be in Baltimore. Instead, Ward will look to anchor the middle of the lineup for a playoff-hopeful O’s club with something to prove.

For more analysis on this deal, be sure to watch this morning’s episode of “The Bird’s Nest” here.