Taylor Ward’s return to Anaheim and Grayson Rodriguez update

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Taylor Ward spent the first 11 years of his professional baseball career in the Angels organization, and on Monday night, he’ll step foot on the field at Angel Stadium as a member of the visiting team for the first time. 

“I'm sure once I get out there, it's going to bring back so many memories,” Ward said. “Everything I did here, the time I had here, it was great, and it should be fun tonight.”

Ward was the Angels’ first-round selection in the 2015 draft out of Fresno State, and it wasn’t until his breakout 2022 campaign that Ward cemented himself as an everyday player. 

Originally drafted as a catcher, Ward switched positions in the minor leagues and debuted as a third baseman in 2018. It wasn’t until the 2020 season that Ward made a home in the outfield, playing mostly right field. 

In 2022, Ward finally showed his first-round potential en route to hitting .281 with 23 home runs. That year, he went on a torrid start to the season, hitting .341 with a 1.145 OPS by the end of May before a collision with the wall in right field injured his shoulder and slowed his production at the plate. 

After an injury-ridden 2023, Ward came back the next season to pop 25 more homers as the everyday left fielder and then followed that up with an impressive 2025 campaign when he hit 36 home runs and drove in 103 runs. 

As trade speculation arose at last year’s trade deadline, Ward made it clear he wanted to stay in Anaheim. He was relieved that the Angels didn’t trade him at the deadline, but that relief only lasted a few more months. 

Over the offseason, the Angels traded Ward to the Orioles for right-hander Grayson Rodriguez. 

“I think it was initially a shock,” Ward said. “As I've thought more of it, I was getting really excited to report to spring training and meet the guys and definitely help this team win over here. It's been great. The guys have been just as great as the guys over there. I guess it's just a baseball thing, just great personalities. It's a tight group here, and it's just been great to play with.”

In his first season with the Orioles, Ward is having an overall productive season, but in an uncharacteristic way. 

Hitting at the top of the Orioles’ lineup, Ward has drawn the third-most walks in the big leagues with 64, two behind longtime teammate Mike Trout. He only has four home runs, which can be attributed to him getting a bone bruise on his hand early in the season and playing through it. 

Even though his power production is down, Ward is hitting .255 with a .393 on-base percentage.

Although Ward is focused on the present, a night like Monday will be one to reminisce.

“Definitely Trouty,” Ward said of who has been most impactful to his career from the Angels. “I was locker mates next to him for multiple years. Just multiple guys in there with Neto, Schanuel, everybody that's in there. They're great people. I wish those guys nothing but the best.”

Grayson Rodriguez Update

On the other side of the trade, Rodriguez is back on the injured list with lower back tightness and will miss out on facing his former club. 

“It's obviously good to see those guys that are over there,” Rodriguez said. “Came up through the minor leagues with a lot of those guys, spent a lot of time with them. Some of them are still my good friends. So yeah, I mean, it's good to see them. And it's gonna be cool to play against them. Obviously, wish I was pitching this series.”

Rodriguez said his back is feeling much better than it did a week ago and he has thrown a short bullpen already, and he plans on throwing another one on Tuesday. 

“I'm glad it's just not my arm,” Rodriguez said. “The first time, we took a little bit of time off from throwing. But like I said, just trying to make sure that nothing severe happens. I mean, it's been a long time since I've been active. So just trying to make sure we can keep on this thing.”

Other Notes

Ahead of Monday night’s game, the Angels announced they activated Jorge Soler from the injured list and designated Nick Madrigal. 

Soler didn’t play in any rehab assignment games or face live pitching before being activated, but Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said that he’s been doing “enhanced batting practice,” where they mix different pitches and said that Soler feels ready to go. 

As for Madrigal, he was hitting .273 with a .680 OPS before being designated for assignment.

“It's never easy when it comes down to it,” Suzuki said. “Everybody's playing good and you just try to make the best decision to help the team and unfortunately, Nicky was the casualty, but, like we told him too in the meeting, he did everything right. Everything that we could have asked for, defense, offense, did everything right. It's just a numbers game.”

Also, Suzuki said that Trout has been working out and doing his treatments to get ready to return from the injured list with a right hamstring strain.

“Hopefully, it's the best-case scenario, but we take it day by day with Mike,” Suzuki said.