The Angels are finally getting something back from the Grayson Rodriguez gamble, but the real test still sits ahead.
For most of the season, the one-for-one swap that sent Taylor Ward to Baltimore for Rodriguez looked hard to justify. Ward was coming off a career year as one of baseball’s most dangerous power bats, and with only one season of team control left, Los Angeles cashed him in for a pitcher whose stock had already taken a major hit. Rodriguez was once one of the game’s elite prospects, but injuries have dragged him through a rough stretch, and the warning signs were there before the trade ever happened.
The right-hander’s recent work has at least given the Angels something to hang onto. On August 20, Rodriguez worked seven scoreless innings against the Astros, striking out six and walking two.
Six days later, he followed that with 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball, adding four strikeouts and one walk. For a club that spent real capital to get him, those back-to-back outings matter.
That said, this is still more of a checkpoint than a verdict. Rodriguez was never going to be judged on a single strong week, especially after missing the entire 2025 season and dealing with a long list of injuries since 2022: a lat muscle strain in June 2022, shoulder inflammation in April 2024, a teres major muscle strain in August 2024, elbow/triceps inflammation in February 2025, another lat muscle strain in April 2025, and elbow discomfort in July 2025.
The Angels also entered this trade knowing they were taking a swing on a pitcher they’re not exactly famous for helping along. That made the move even more puzzling at the time, and for much of the season, it looked like Baltimore had come away with the cleaner deal.
Now the focus shifts to what Rodriguez can do from here. If he keeps pitching like this over the final month, the Angels can at least feel better about where things stand heading into next season. If these last two starts turn out to be the exception, then the leash gets a lot shorter.
Either way, the front office has a decision to make. Rodriguez is expected to be in the rotation to begin next season because of what the Angels gave up to get him, but how much patience he gets will come down to how he finishes this year.
A strong closing stretch could buy him a longer runway in 2027. Another step back would make that path much tighter.
And above everything else, the health piece still looms largest. Rodriguez has the talent to be a major league starter, and the Angels could use one more arm like that. But talent only goes so far if he can’t stay on the mound.
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