No doubt, there is a lot of head-scratching going on in Birdland after the Orioles – who badly need more high-quality starting pitching – decided to part ways with highly regarded prospect Grayson Rodriguez.
It isn’t often that a team deals a seemingly valuable guy who has multiple years under club control for a veteran player who will only be obligated to stay around for one year, so you’re welcome to keep scratching if you can afford to lose the hair.
The obvious reason the Orioles wanted right-handed slugger Taylor Ward, of course, is that the O’s badly needed a more balanced right-left lineup after a disappointing season during which opposing teams continually stacked good lefties up against them. That’s why they signed Tyler O’Neill last winter to an expensive contract, but he couldn’t stay healthy enough to make a difference.
The Los Angeles Angels had their reasons for giving up a player who hit 36 home runs and 31 doubles and figures to have several good years left at 31. They’re gambling on a healthy Rodriguez to be near the front of their rotation at a very low price while the Orioles will likely have to pay Ward an arbitration-fueled salary that could end up being close to $14 million.
That’s a lot of money and talent to give up for a one-year rental, but the O’s have the ability to tempt Ward with a longer contract. I don’t see that happening in the wake of O’Neill’s ill-advised $49.5 million deal, but Ward played almost every game last season and his arrival gives the Orioles a pretty solid top five players in the outfield.
The Orioles could be forgiven for becoming frustrated with Rodriguez, whose injury history is well known, but I don’t think that’s the major reason for them giving up on him. I think it has more to do with the arrival of a new manager and the partial reconstruction of the coaching staff, as well as the desire by the front office and the ownership group to head into spring training without more lingering questions about the health and durability of the starting rotation.
Two years of that was quite enough. The Orioles are still going to be careful with likely ace Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells after elbow surgeries, but both did return to pitch effectively at the end of this past season. Rodriguez did not and he would have come back under a cloud of uncertainty the Orioles don’t really need while they try to convince a skeptical fan base that they are going to make the playoffs in 2026.
The deal is just another signal that the club considers the coming season to be a win-or-else proposition, at least to the point of making the postseason and winning a playoff game or two.
How that plays out is anybody’s guess. President of baseball operations Mike Elias entered this offseason with openings all over the pitching staff. The Orioles were able to audition a few young relievers after the team’s midseason bullpen fire sale, but he’s going to have to make a number of key acquisitions to put the club in a position to climb back into contention in the ever-tougher American League East.
It was heartening to hear control partner David Rubenstein say during this month’s introductory media conference for new manager Craig Albernaz that the pockets of the (relatively) new ownership group are deep enough to do what is necessary to improve the club. Though I doubt that means the Orioles are going to throw off the chains of their small-market status and fully compete with their richer divisional competitors, I think the Ward deal is a sign that the club is poised to make some positive headlines in the next couple of months.
I’d love to see the O’s pony up a couple hundred million for someone like Bo Bichette to give the team more star power, but I’ll settle for a front-line starting pitcher (anyone other than Dylan Cease) and a legitimate bullpen closer, both of which will cost a lot in dollars and minor league talent.