All eyes will be on Angels' RHP Grayson Rodriguez this spring

Early into the offseason, the Los Angeles Angels made a trade with the Baltimore Orioles. They acquired Grayson Rodriguez in exchange for Taylor Ward. 

Baltimore was looking to move on from Rodriguez, who has had a terrible history of injuries throughout his career. He will now look to put those injuries behind him and be a big component of this rotation. 

However, it could be a tough road ahead. He missed the entirety of the 2025 season after inflammation and elbow debridement surgery ended his year. He surely has some rust to knock off. 

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All eyes will be on Angels RHP Grayson Rodriguez this spring

The Angels will look for Grayson Rodriguez to take a big step this season. He is projected to be the No. 4 starter for this team, and they do not have a ton of depth if Rodriguez does not work out. 

After Rodriguez in the rotation is Alek Manoah, someone who has not pitched in MLB since May of 2024, so the Halos are counting on Rodriguez to deliver. 

MLB.com's David Adler headlines the hard-throwing righty in his list of pitchers fans will want to pay attention to throughout Spring Training. 

"The Angels made a big move to get Rodriguez, sending Taylor Ward and his 36 home runs in a one-for-one swap. Will Rodriguez be worth it? The big right-handed missed the entire 2025 season due to elbow surgery, but he's ready for Spring Training and armed with two really good pitches: an upper-90s fastball and a signature secondary pitch, his changeup."

If Rodriguez is going to have any success this season, he must stay healthy. If he can do that, he has the stuff that could play well at this level. 

He has a big-time fastball that pairs well with his changeup. Watch for the big right-hander to work on some of his other pitches throughout the spring, like his curveball and slider. 

Rodriguez will need to sharpen at least one of those if he wants to be a complete starting pitcher in this league.

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