The Baltimore Orioles’ days as the model front office success story of Major League Baseball have quickly spoiled.

After years of last-place finishes, the Orioles made back-to-back playoff appearances from 2023-2024 because of a young, talented position-player core they built up. But they haven’t built a starting rotation worthy of matching their lineup, and heading into this offseason, starting pitching wasn’t just their No. 1 need — it was arguably their only major agenda item.

However, it appears the Orioles vehemently disagreed with that notion, because on Tuesday, they traded away one of their most promising starting pitchers in recent memory.

Baltimore shipped 26-year-old former first-round pick Grayson Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Angels for power-hitting left fielder Taylor Ward. If both players repeat last season’s performances, the one-for-one swap would be a win for Baltimore. But there are so many other factors that make this deal a true head-scratcher.

Ward hit a career-high 36 home runs for the Angels last year while playing over 155 games for the second year in a row. But he’s heading into his walk year at age 32, so there’s a good chance Baltimore will only have him for one year, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll have another similar season after a change of scenery.

But more importantly, Rodriguez was projected to be the No. 3 or 4 starter in the Orioles’ rotation, which quietly had a nice core forming with Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish ahead of him on the depth chart. Now, Baltimore has one more starter to find in free agency, where it must have felt highly pessimistic about acquiring a power-hitting corner outfielder.

Also, what exactly was the point of paying Tyler O’Neill a three-year, $49.5 million contract last offseason? The Orioles now have O’Neill, Ward, Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser, Jeremiah Jackson, Leody Taveras, and Heston Kjerstad on their outfield depth chart. That’s a legitimate logjam that suggests more trades are likely on the horizon.

Rodriguez may have a mediocre 4.11 ERA in 43 major league starts, but he has more than a strikeout per inning, his stuff is nasty, and he could break out at any given moment. More importantly, the Angels now have him for four years on a cheap deal, and the Orioles now need to find about three pitchers exactly like him to compete in the American League East.

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