Angels just received real hope that Taylor Ward trade might not be a total disaster

The concept of the Los Angeles Angels trading Taylor Ward to the Orioles made sense. Ward is a free agent after the season. There's little reason to believe LA would be willing to pony up the cash to keep him around, and they got a controllable starting pitcher in Grayson Rodriguez. The reality of the trade was that the Angels were taking on some risk, considering Rodriguez's injury history.

Rodriguez was healthy (enough) to start spring training on time with the Angels, but his early results made it clear that something may have been wrong underneath the hood. There was a dip in velocity, and the 26-year-old was also struggling with his command. The Angels halted his program with the catch-all diagnosis of shoulder inflammation, hoping that some added rest would get him back on track.

Time hasn't aged in the Angels' favor, considering how Ward has looked with the Orioles, but the latest update on Rodriguez would suggest there's hope that the trade doesn't turn out to be a total disaster.

Rodriguez has previously resumed his throwing program and is now facing live hitters in bullpen sessions. Given his history, the expectation is that the Angels will slow-play his recovery. He's still weeks away from returning to the big-league club, considering he likely will need an extended minor-league rehab assignment to ensure he is fully healthy.

Don't close the book on Grayson Rodriguez..yet

We're still a long way from the Angels being declared the victors of the trade with the Orioles, but Rodriguez being healthy is an important bar to clear. His final season with the Orioles was littered with stop-and-starts in terms of his recovery, likely one of the reasons why Baltimore was eager to part with him during the offseason.

It's why the Angels deserve some credit. There was inherent risk in trading for Rodriguez, but if he can get healthy and become a fixture in the starting rotation, perhaps the deal will be viewed differently by the end of the season. Rodriguez may not be the ascending top-of-the-rotation pitcher he once was with the Orioles, but if he's capable of living in the middle of the rotation for the next several seasons, the Angels should be able to live with not having one final season of Ward in their starting lineup.

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