BALTIMORE — I haven’t exactly been handing out praise for Mike Elias lately, but the Grayson Rodriguez trade earns a different response. After weeks of wondering whether the Orioles would match their words with action, they made a stunning move Tuesday that feels aligned with the moment they’re in.

By acquiring outfielder Taylor Ward in a one-for-one player trade with the Angels, the Orioles are signaling that they’re attempting to win now.

Rodriguez enthusiasts might be pounding the table, so let’s repeat it once more.

This past season marked the first time in the franchise’s 71-year history that the Orioles finished in last place in the American League East after back-to-back 90-win seasons. And by adding Ward, the Orioles are aggressively trying to rebound and win now.

Ward, who turns 32 in December, arrives in Baltimore as a productive hitter with pop, immediately fulfilling an offseason need. He’s posted six straight seasons with an OPS above the league average, offering a patient approach at the plate with real power as an everyday corner outfielder. Since 2023, he owns the 15th-best OPS in MLB against left-handed pitching, an area in which Baltimore has struggled mightily.

The Orioles collectively slashed .231/.297/.364 against left-handed pitching in 2025, while Ward posted an impressive .262/.345/.573 line.

Spring training might be a couple of months away, but I already can imagine hearing the crack of Ward’s bat connecting with a ball bound for the left-field picnic area at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla.

Trading the talented Rodriguez for Ward’s level of stability couldn’t have been an easy decision for Elias and company, but it also shouldn’t come as a complete shock given Rodriguez’s many injury concerns. The 26-year-old right-hander hasn’t pitched in a big league game since August 2024, when he told pitching coach Drew French, “I don’t feel right.” Since then, pundits and fans alike have wondered, will Rodriguez ever return to top form?

His MLB.com transactions page reads like a grocery list with six injured list stints since June 2022.

Shoulder. Elbow. Lat.

Rodriguez’s health issues, unfortunately, represented a trail of setbacks that reshaped his once-promising trajectory. It seems the Orioles no longer had the patience nor the luxury of waiting for Rodriguez to heal while their competitive window remains open.

Sure, moving on from Rodriguez, who still has four years of club control, is considered a gamble. However, it is not the wrong move either.

He might still become the pitcher everyone once imagined, but the Orioles need help now. The ever-important 2026 season, under new manager Craig Albernaz, can’t hinge on whether a talented but injured arm is finally ready to handle a full workload. We should all root for Rodriguez to have a full recovery, but the Orioles know his body best and are trusting their gut and projections by dealing him.

In Ward, Elias chose immediate production over theoretical value. Ward enters his walk year with an estimated valuation of around $13.7 million, according to MLB Trade Rumors.

Of course, moving Rodriguez leaves even more questions for a rotation that entered the offseason already needing several additions. Perhaps that’s the biggest tell in this unique trade. Could this finally be the offseason in which Elias finally shops at the top of the pitching market?

After all, the free-agent class is deeper on the mound than in the outfield, and both Elias and owner David Rubenstein have hinted repeatedly that the Orioles could be active via trade or free agency for a starter. Rather than waiting for the winter market to take shape, Elias jumped first.

This seemingly calculated move all but demands a follow-up.

So … what’s next?

This timing gives the Orioles space to navigate the rest of the offseason with flexibility instead of desperation for outfield bodies after Baltimore added Ward and Leody Taveras. The Orioles still have plenty of prospect capital to use as leverage in future acquisitions. By moving early, Elias is keeping his options open as the stove really begins to heat up in the coming weeks.

“Mike has a lot of authority to go out and find the best players that we can get,” Rubenstein said earlier this month. “We are relying on what Mike and his team can do and with Craig, finding good players that want to be here and that can complement what we already have. We’re looking forward to the new season.”

For anyone thinking about a potential outfield logjam, last season proved otherwise as the Orioles used the second-most players in MLB history. Tyler O’Neill, who will make $33 million over the next two seasons, appeared in just 54 games during his first season in Baltimore, hitting .199 with nine home runs and a .684 OPS. While some might argue that adding Ward would’ve been unnecessary had O’Neill’s production met his contract value, Elias acknowledged at the end of the season that he learned from his miscalculations from last winter and was adamant that he must move forward.

Adding Ward corrects the initial swing-and-miss on O’Neill, and one can only imagine how dominant the pair of right-handed hitting outfielders might look together in the Orioles’ lineup should O’Neill return to form.

I’ve spent much of this offseason wondering when and how Elias would act. This was a pivot toward urgency, adding a proven slugger in Ward who mashes left-handed pitching.

Next up on Elias’ to-do list: adding frontline starters and a shutdown closer.

The rest of Baltimore’s offseason suddenly looks a lot more interesting.

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