Grayson Rodriguez injury update suggests Angels fans were right to be concerned

Grayson Rodriguez was not required to take a physical as part of the trade from the Baltimore Orioles to the Los Angeles Angels. Even if it was the Angels' discretion, that felt like an easy bar to clear, considering he hasn't pitched in a game of consequence since 2024.

It's why LA couldn't have been too surprised by the developments during spring training. Rodriguez wasn't getting results, and there was a noticeable dip in his velocity. Beyond the 26-year-old working his way back for a series of elbow and shoulder injuries that wiped away his final season with the Orioles, something didn't look right.

Sure enough, Rodriguez landed on the IL just ahead of Opening Day with what Kurt Suzuki described as a "dead arm". In case you weren't aware, Rodriguez's final season with the Orioles started with an IL stint during spring training that was initially downplayed before he ultimately missed the entire year.

In other words, it's not a surprise the Orioles pawned Rodriguez off to the Angels as quickly as they did during the offseason and were like, "LOL, no take backsies".

Grayson Rodriguez is making progress, but his Angels' debut is delayed

MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger reports that Rodriguez is throwing from 150 feet and should resume bullpen sessions in the next week or two. While Rodriguez will be with the Angels during their next road trip, Bollinger stresses that his return to the Angels is still weeks away.

It's a reminder of the inherent risk the Angels took in making the trade with the Orioles. On the surface, it looked like a stroke of genius to move one year of a slugging outfielder for a controllable pitcher that was once ascending toward the top of a rotation. But context matters, and any team trading for Rodriguez was set to take on enormous risk.

Maybe Rodriguez reaches a point this season where he validates the oddly urgent trade the Angels made for him during the offseason. His history, and the Angels' history of baseball decisions, doesn't exactly give either party the benefit of the doubt.