Everyone's laughing at Jo Adell but bigger Angels disaster might be Grayson Rodriguez

One can easily understand why Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell is getting flamed right now. Not only was his defensive gaffe on Tuesday absolutely brutal (and reminiscent of the infamous "play" courtesy of Jose Canseco years ago) but this isn't even the first time that this has happened to Adell in his career!

Truly, that ball bouncing off Adell's head for a home run was a microcosm of the Angels' season so far, and you just have to laugh through the pain. However, the bigger takeaway from that game probably has to do with Grayson Rodriguez.

There was a lot of skepticism around the trade for Rodriguez from the moment it went down during the offseason. Not only was Taylor Ward well-liked and an important part of the Angels' lineup, but Rodriguez had a long history of injury concerns. Those are usually huge red flags when you're talking about a pitcher that the team wants to lean as a key member of their rotation.

To the surprise of no one, Rodriguez battled injury issues almost immediately this season. However, Adell's anti-web gem is helping to mask the fact that Rodriguez is back in the rotation, but he just isn't making the team any better. If anything, they are markedly worse.

Jo Adell's gaffe only masked Grayson Rodriguez's latest Angels' clunker

Rodriguez's line would've looked a little better had Adell not head-butted a ball over the fence for a solo homer. But Adell wasn't the one who gave up a three-run homer to the hitter before that. Unfortunately, Rodriguez's rough night did not come in isolation.

After being tagged for eight runs in less than four innings of work, Rodriguez now has a 10.00 ERA across four starts, and his 6.65 FIP only represents a marginal improvement in terms of peripherals.

Since being activated from the IL, Rodriguez has given up four or more earned runs in three of his four starts. If you look at his early pitch metrics, the only thing Rodriguez really has going for him is that he throws really hard. Everything else (in an admittedly small sample) is mediocre to dreadful.

Unfortunately, getting the Rodriguez trade wrong is just one of a number of missteps that are costing the Angels right now. The pitching staff is struggling, the offense is feeble outside of Mike Trout, and the bullpen is unreliable. Adell's mistake and Rodriguez's struggles are a part of that, but they are just a couple pieces of the puzzle that is the 2026 Angels.

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