Orioles trade for Taylor Ward only compounds their biggest offseason problem

The Baltimore Orioles shocked, well, pretty much everyone late on Tuesday night when they struck a trade with the Los Angeles Angels. The Orioles acquired outfielder Taylor Ward who hit 36 home runs last year. Assuming Ward's hit tool trends upward, he could be a valuable part of Baltimore's lineup heading into next season. The bad news, however, is that the Orioles had to give up Grayson Rodriguez in order to execute the trade.

Banking on a Rodriguez bounce-back in 2026 may have been a bad bet from the get-go. As good as Rodriguez can be when he's on the mound, the litany of injury issues he's dealt with throughout his career raised real concerns. One has to wonder if Rodriguez can ever be relied upon for a full season.

The problem, though, is that the Orioles were already in desperate need for starting pitching heading into the offseason. Now that they've moved on from Rodriguez, it only compounds that need. Given that the front office doesn't have a great track record when it comes to pitching, this trade could backfire.

Orioles' already-thin rotation took another hit after trading Grayson Rodriguez for Angels' outfielder Taylor Ward

There was never any guarantee that Rodriguez would stay healthy, and there were already whispers and hints from the Orioles front office that he was already facing a move to the bullpen. In that context, "selling high" makes sense.

Rodriguez was, however, at least an option for an Orioles' rotation that doesn't have many appealing alternatives. Trevor Rogers is a legit frontline starter if he stays healthy, and Kyle Bradish looked good after returning from injury. Nevertheless, the drop-off after those two is...steep. When it comes to reinforcing the rotation, the front office has shown precious little beyond the Corbin Burnes trade. Considering the team's uncertain financial constraints, that's a lot of pressure to place on Mike Elias and Co.

If you're an Orioles' fan, and were convinced that Rodriguez was already on his way out, or was going to have to move to to the bullpen, then you probably woke up happy on Wednesday morning. No one should ignore the fact, however, that unless Baltimore adds multiple starting pitchers that are not senior citizens this offseason, this trade could prove to be a costly mistake.