The Los Angeles Angels need Grayson Rodriguez to join their rotation, and he's getting close to a rehab assignment.
Grayson Rodriguez might be the key to the Los Angeles Angels season, and the right-handed starter faced live hitters for the first time since spring training at Angels Stadium before the Angels 5-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays last night.
The simulated pair of innings came facing Vaughn Grissom, Bryce Teodosio and first base coach Adam Eaton, and Rodriguez wound up throwing about 30 pitches, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. He has a long way to go to build up his pitch count, but this is considered a big step as he continues to try and recover from right shoulder inflammation.
“It's a big step,” Rodriguez said. “Obviously, when you’re out for a long period of time not getting to see hitters, it's disappointing. But finally getting hitters back in the box and getting that adrenaline going felt really nice.”
Rodriguez was acquired in the trade that sent Taylor Ward to the Orioles, and he came into spring training healthy after having bone spurs removed from his elbow last August. His initial spring building resulted in a 4.97 ERA with 12 strikeouts and 10 walks in 12-2/3 innings until he was shut down in mid-March.
According to Bollinger, his throwing program has allowed him to regain some of the command he lacked back in Arizona.
“The stuff is there,” Rodriguez said. “I’m really happy with where that's at. I had really good stuff in Spring Training, and I think the command was the issue there. But from having these down weeks and having some bullpens to work on some stuff, I think the command is a lot better than what it was during spring.”
Manager Kurt Suzuki watched the session and was impressed, but the next step is tbd. It will probably be facing hitters again with a higher pitch count, but a rehab assignment is now in sight.
“It was really good,” Suzuki said. “Obviously coming over in a big trade, and watching him in Spring Training, we were really excited, and now he’s worked his way back. I was watching his bullpens leading up to this and you could see him progressively start climbing. And to go against hitters, I think the juices were flowing a little bit.”
Rodriguez last pitched in the Angels in 2024, when he had an ERA of 3.86 and 130 strikeouts and 36 walks in 116-2/3 innings, and those numbers were similar to what he put up the year before as a rookie.
The Angels’ rotation has been surprisingly good at times, especially with Jose Soriano stepping up to become a genuine ace, but adding Rodriguez would provide the kind of stability the Halos need.
“We'll see how he feels coming out of it,” Suzuki said. “Obviously you don't want to rush him too much. We’ll talk about what the next steps are. But he looked good for two innings today. So that's definitely a good start.”