The Los Angeles Angels traded for Grayson Rodriguez based on his potential, and he showed what it looks like for real.
The Los Angeles Angels have been waiting for starter Grayson Rodriguez to show the kind of potential that led the team to give up outfielder Taylor Ward to get him from the Baltimore Orioles, and yesterday Rodriguez finally pulled it together in his fourth start of the spring as he shut out the Cleveland Guardians for 4-2/3 innings in the Angels’ 5-2 win.
Rodriguez wasn’t exactly thrilled by his outing, though, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He’s had a tough go of it so far this spring, given up seven runs in eight innings over his first three starts.
“The walks are still a killer,” said Rodriguez, who has now walked 10 batters in 12-2/3 innings this spring. “We threw a lot of unnecessary pitches. … Right now, that’s the work that’s going to be going on from here until the season starts, making sure we can get that fastball command down.”
The Angels aren’t nearly as critical, however. They know Rodriguez hasn’t pitched in a big-league game since 2024, and command can be the last thing to return after a long layoff due to injuries. Manager Kurt Suzuki indicated as much in his post-game comments, which focused on the pitcher’s stuff and build-up process.
“Consistency, sharpness of pitches and stuff; especially for Grayson, he didn't pitch much last year at all, so kind of seeing him work his way and get better and better,” Suzuki said. “There are some consistency things he needs to tighten up, but at the same time, the stuff is there. It's just honing that in.”
The obvious question that comes after that is whether Rodriguez will be honed in when the season starts in less that two weeks. There’s also the question of how the Angels will handle Rodriguez going forward if he’s not quite ready, given that extended delays between starts won’t help him reestablish his control.
Rodriguez now has two more projected spring-training starts, and he’s focusing on taking baby steps, which is understandable given his recent history.
“Missing last year, going down a little early in ’24, right now I’m just focusing on health and throwing strikes,” Rodriguez said. “That’s kind of how I’m looking at it right now.
“Obviously I want to be throwing a lot better than what I am, but it’s a change of getting back into the swing of throwing every five or six days, feeling what it’s like to be on that rotation again. Each start is going to be a little bit better, so all I can do is put my head down and get to work.”
The Angels hope that work goes well, but they’re probably just relieved to see Rodriguez pitch well for a change. They signed plenty of pitchers with extended injury histories this offseason, but Rodriguez is the most important reclamation project by far.