TEMPE, Ariz. — Grayson Rodriguez’s position in the Angels’ rotation to start the season is now in question.
Manager Kurt Suzuki said on Thursday that Rodriguez, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since July 2024, has been slowed down.
“He felt some soreness,” Suzuki said. “We backed him up. We’ll see how he recovers. If he comes back in a couple days and says, ‘I feel freaking great,’ then we’ll go from there, but obviously if he doesn’t then we’ll kind of take the next steps.”
Suzuki said Rodriguez played catch earlier Thursday, and then described his condition as “dead arm.”
Suzuki said that Angels general manager Perry Minasian “wants to be safe.”
Rodriguez, 26, has been dealing with injuries since 2024, so any issue sends up a red flag.
Rodriguez last pitched on Friday. He threw 85 pitches in 4⅔ innings, with four walks and five strikeouts. His fastball averaged 94 mph and topped at 97 mph.
At that point, Rodriguez said he felt good, but he was disappointed by the walks.
“Obviously, I wish I’d thrown a lot better this spring, but so far I’m healthy and you can’t really ask for much more than that,” Rodriguez said last week.
Although the Angels are being cautious with Rodriguez, Suzuki said they aren’t placing any limits on him this season.
“It’s kind of when they come here they’re going to pitch, which is why (Minasian) is kind of playing it safe with him,” Suzuki said. “It’s like, ‘Hey man, gotta try to keep it safe with you and when you’re ready to go, you’re ready to go. If you need a few more days or a week or two weeks or a month, we just want to make sure he’s ready to pitch when he pitches, because he’s had some arm injuries and we just want to make sure we get ahead of it.”
If Rodriguez is unable to start the season in the rotation, that would seemingly mean that both Jack Kochanowicz and Ryan Johnson would start the season in a rotation that also includes José Soriano, Yusei Kikuchi and Reid Detmers.
Suzuki, however, wouldn’t close the door on other pitchers. The Angels still have Alek Manoah, George Klassen and Walbert Ureña in camp.
Klassen is scheduled to pitch against the Dodgers in the first game of the Freeway Series on Sunday night. Suzuki said he’s not sure who will pitch the other two games.
PROSPECT GAME
The Angels lost, 4-2, to the Cleveland Guardians in the Spring Breakout game on Thursday, with all the Cleveland runs scoring in the fourth inning against Trey Gregory-Alford.
Right-hander Dylan Jordan, who started, and right-hander Nate Snead each pitched two scoreless innings. Snead hit 100 mph.
Right-handers Chris Cortez, Najer Victor and Jared Southard also pitched scoreless innings. Cortez struck out three, around two walks.
The Angels didn’t score until Denzer Guzman hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning.
NOTES
The Angels reassigned left-hander Tayler Saucedo and outfielder José Siri to minor league camp. …
Outfielder Josh Lowe played in a minor league game on Thursday morning. Lowe said he played outfield and didn’t have any problems. He also accelerated his throwing program. Throwing is more of an obstacle than hitting or running for Lowe, who has been dealing with an oblique issue this spring. …
Infielder Vaughn Grissom, who had a cortisone shot in his sore left hand, reported that his hand was feeling better, but he was sick. Grissom has been out since March 12, so there’s a possibility that the missed time causes him to start the season on the injured list.