Before Paul Skenes won a national championship at LSU in 2023, he helped Air Force baseball win its first Mountain West tournament title and clinch its first NCAA regional appearance since 1969. That feat represented what he and his teammates had built.

Skenes believes a similar rise is on the horizon for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“We just have to do it,” the Pirates ace told “The Dan Patrick Show” on Tuesday. “And leaving before that would leave a bad taste in my mouth because there was work to be done that we didn’t do.”

Leading up to Skenes winning the NL Cy Young Award unanimously last week, a report from NJ Advance Media’s Randy Miller circulated. In it, an anonymous Pirates teammate was quoted alleging that he had heard Skenes talk about wanting to play for the New York Yankees and wanting to be traded well before he’s set to become a free agent after the 2029 season. 

Skenes told reporters he didn’t know where that report came from the night he added a Cy Young Award to a trophy case that also includes a 2024 NL Rookie of the Year award.

The two-time All-Star again dismissed the report Tuesday, saying, “Obviously, it’s not true.”

“I was frustrated for a couple hours, and then kind of got over it and talked to the media later that night,” Skenes told Patrick on Tuesday. 

“It is what it is. There’s stuff that’s going to come out, good and bad.”

Skenes knows he’s not the first star player in a small market to deal with this kind of hoopla. It comes with the territory of playing in a league that doesn’t have a salary cap, and where these types of trades have ultimately happened before.

The Pirates notably shipped off another former No. 1 pick, Gerrit Cole, after the 2017 season, the pitcher’s fifth with the Bucs, following months of speculation. 

Pittsburgh has finished in last place of the NL Central in each of Skenes’ first two seasons in the majors after the Pirates selected him with the top pick in the 2023 draft.

[Get more Pirates news: Pittsburgh team feed]

Skenes admitted to Patrick that losing more than he ever has in his career has been “a huge adjustment.”

“It’s tough to not show up to the field every day and be bitter sometimes, especially when we’re on a seven, eight-game skid,” he said. “I think it just comes down to being a professional. I’ve learned more and more how to do that and just be the same person every day.”

Skenes added: “It is energizing to think about what it could be, if and when we do win. So that’s the thing that gets me out of bed.”

Skenes beat out the Philadelphia Phillies’ Cristopher Sánchez and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto for the 2025 NL Cy Young Award after posting an MLB-best 1.97 ERA this season. No other qualifying starting pitcher had gone sub-2.00 since Justin Verlander did it with the Houston Astros in 2022.

Although Skenes’ 1.97 ERA was a hundredth of a point higher than his 1.96 ERA from last season, it was the lowest by a Pirates starter with at least 140 innings pitched since 1916, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He logged enough innings to become the first qualified pitcher in his age-23 season or younger to notch an ERA that starts with a 1 since Dwight Gooden in 1985, according to MLB.com.

He’s clearly motivated by more than his individual accomplishments, though. He’s not happy with the Pirates’ struggles, but he’s emphasized that he wants to be part of their turnaround.

“It all comes down to how you look at it, right?” Skenes told Patrick. “You can just be bitter at the world and pissed off, or you can fight to do what’s right, make it right — you know, win.”

Before Paul Skenes won a national championship at LSU in 2023, he helped Air Force baseball win its first Mountain West tournament title and clinch its first NCAA regional appearance since 1969. That feat represented what he and his teammates had built.

Skenes believes a similar rise is on the horizon for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“We just have to do it,” the Pirates ace told “The Dan Patrick Show” on Tuesday. “And leaving before that would leave a bad taste in my mouth because there was work to be done that we didn’t do.”

Leading up to Skenes winning the NL Cy Young Award unanimously last week, a report from NJ Advance Media’s Randy Miller circulated. In it, an anonymous Pirates teammate was quoted alleging that he had heard Skenes talk about wanting to play for the New York Yankees and wanting to be traded well before he’s set to become a free agent after the 2029 season. 

Skenes told reporters he didn’t know where that report came from the night he added a Cy Young Award to a trophy case that also includes a 2024 NL Rookie of the Year award.

The two-time All-Star again dismissed the report Tuesday, saying, “Obviously, it’s not true.”

“I was frustrated for a couple hours, and then kind of got over it and talked to the media later that night,” Skenes told Patrick on Tuesday. 

“It is what it is. There’s stuff that’s going to come out, good and bad.”

Skenes knows he’s not the first star player in a small market to deal with this kind of hoopla. It comes with the territory of playing in a league that doesn’t have a salary cap, and where these types of trades have ultimately happened before.

The Pirates notably shipped off another former No. 1 pick, Gerrit Cole, after the 2017 season, the pitcher’s fifth with the Bucs, following months of speculation. 

Pittsburgh has finished in last place of the NL Central in each of Skenes’ first two seasons in the majors after the Pirates selected him with the top pick in the 2023 draft.

[Get more Pirates news: Pittsburgh team feed]

Skenes admitted to Patrick that losing more than he ever has in his career has been “a huge adjustment.”

“It’s tough to not show up to the field every day and be bitter sometimes, especially when we’re on a seven, eight-game skid,” he said. “I think it just comes down to being a professional. I’ve learned more and more how to do that and just be the same person every day.”

Skenes added: “It is energizing to think about what it could be, if and when we do win. So that’s the thing that gets me out of bed.”

Skenes beat out the Philadelphia Phillies’ Cristopher Sánchez and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto for the 2025 NL Cy Young Award after posting an MLB-best 1.97 ERA this season. No other qualifying starting pitcher had gone sub-2.00 since Justin Verlander did it with the Houston Astros in 2022.

Although Skenes’ 1.97 ERA was a hundredth of a point higher than his 1.96 ERA from last season, it was the lowest by a Pirates starter with at least 140 innings pitched since 1916, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He logged enough innings to become the first qualified pitcher in his age-23 season or younger to notch an ERA that starts with a 1 since Dwight Gooden in 1985, according to MLB.com.

He’s clearly motivated by more than his individual accomplishments, though. He’s not happy with the Pirates’ struggles, but he’s emphasized that he wants to be part of their turnaround.

“It all comes down to how you look at it, right?” Skenes told Patrick. “You can just be bitter at the world and pissed off, or you can fight to do what’s right, make it right — you know, win.”

Oubre to miss at least 2 weeks for Sixers with left knee injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Kelly Oubre Jr. will miss at least two weeks with a left knee injury, the Sixers announced Wednesday night.

Oubre exited the Sixers’ loss last Friday to the Pistons after hyperextending his knee. According to a Sixers official, an MRI on the 29-year-old revealed a left knee LCL sprain and he’ll be re-evaluated in two weeks.

Early in the season, Oubre had been the Sixers’ primary wing player (34.8 minutes per game) and started all of the team’s first 12 games. He averaged 16.8 points and 5.1 rebounds and often handled star assignments defensively.

“He’s done that consistently where he’s got one of better scorers in the league or on the other team, and he just keeps working and working,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said after his team’s Nov. 8 win over the Raptors. “He’s been really good.

“He’s done a good job of playing physically and he’s been much better at just being solid — keeping himself in front of his man, challenging shots. They’re going to make some, but he just keeps at it over the course of the game and ends up with a good defensive game.”

Along with Oubre, the Sixers did not have Joel Embiid (right knee injury), Paul George (left knee injury recovery) and Adem Bona (right ankle sprain) on Wednesday night vs. Toronto for the first leg of a back-to-back.

George is expected to be available Thursday against the Bucks. Embiid has been a full participant in the Sixers’ last two practices and was initially listed as doubtful against the Raptors.

It’s probably not news to any NBA fans that the Dallas Mavericks are experiencing some turbulence right now.

In 2025 alone, the franchise has traded away superstar Luka Dončić, spent months defending the decision, missed the playoffs after reaching the NBA Finals a year earlier, begun the 2025-26 season with a 4-11 record and, finally, fired general manager Nico Harrison, the man who pushed for the Dončić decision that has become perhaps the most criticized trade in the history of basketball.

And that’s just in the public sphere.

In private, according to ESPN’s Tim McMahon, there had been a push-and-pull between Harrison and minority owner Mark Cuban all the way up to the former’s firing, with majority owner Patrick Dumont in the middle. 

At one point, Cuban — who sold his majority stake in 2023 but claimed he would still oversee basketball decisions — was sidelined to the point that he learned about the Dončić trade at the same time as fans. As of last week, however, he was back in the circle of trust — and reportedly pushing for Dumont to fire the executive he himself hired in 2021.

Per ESPN, Cuban spent the summer criticizing Harrison’s roster construction with Dumont, flagging the roster’s lack of off-dribble creators and shooting. The team now ranks as the second-worst offense in the NBA by offensive rating, between the Washington Wizards and Tyrese Haliburton-less Indiana Pacers. The team’s lack of guard depth has been glaring this season, to the point that 18-year-old Cooper Flagg had to make his NBA debut out of position as the team’s starting point guard. 

With Harrison out, Dumont has reportedly gone with a “GM by committee” approach that involves interim co-general managers Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi (previously Harrison’s assistant general managers), head coach Jason Kidd and, of course, Cuban.

The arrangement will eventually be replaced when the Mavericks hire a full-time general manager, but for now, Cuban is happy, even if he still doesn’t have the control he once held. Per ESPN:

“He’s walking around on air right now,” a team source said. “Cuban’s floating in his Skechers.”

But Cuban isn’t returning to his shot-caller status within the Mavs. Nor will he ever. As one source put it, Cuban sold that right.

“He’s a consultant, not a decision-maker,” another source said. “But he’s at the table.”

Cuban is on the record multiple times as critical of the Dončić trade, both for the basic decision of letting go of the star he had installed as majority owner and for the shadowy process by which Harrison conducted the maneuver. In order to risk leaks — namely Dončić or Cuban finding out and trying to kill the deal — Harrison zeroed in on the Los Angeles Lakers as his trade partner and ultimately received only the oft-injured Anthony Davis, young guard Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick.

Nico Harrison had taken full control of Mavericks’ basketball decisions from Mark Cuban

Harrison being able to swing the deal reflects the full trust Dumont had in him at the time. Per ESPN, he took credit for the Mavericks’ Finals run in 2024, partially made possible by key trade deadline deals for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington, while also placing blame for the team’s five-game Finals loss to the Boston Celtics on Dončić’s defensive struggles. 

Ultimately, Harrison got the relationship to the point where the only person he had to keep happy was Dumont:

“Nico did a hell of a sales job,” a Mavs official said. “He took credit for everything that was done. When Patrick asked questions — asked how we got Kyrie, how the draft happened, etc. — [Harrison] said he was the guy. We got on a roll and went to the Finals. Fool’s gold.”

Dumont would occasionally ask Harrison to “keep Mark in the fold” regarding personnel discussions and decisions, sources said. Harrison would agree to do so before blowing it off. The contact at this point between Cuban and Dumont was minimal, given the team’s success. Cuban and Harrison rarely spoke to each other.

“Nico built the moat and put up the fence and said, ‘I got this!'” one source familiar with the dynamic between Harrison and Dumont said. “Clearly, that was the wrong strategy.”

Harrison’s concerns about Dončić as the Mavericks’ long-term franchise star were no secret. He repeatedly threw out the cliché “defense wins championships” while justifying a swap of Dončić for Davis and reportedly clashed with the Dončić camp over the recovery timeline of a calf strain.

Per ESPN, Harrison believed a five-year, $345 million supermax contract, which Dončić was about to be eligible for, would be an awful investment and said as much to Dumont, while pointing to conditioning concerns, poor off-court habits and recurring calf strains. He reportedly used Dončić’s hesitance to return from a calf strain as proof that he wasn’t fully committed to Dallas.

Meanwhile, Cuban reportedly chafed at his lack of control. Per ESPN, he privately claimed he only hired Harrison, previously a Nike executive with no front office experience, due to his relationships with players and agents, never planning for Harrison to actually be the decision-maker. After the sale, Harrison reportedly saw Cuban as an unnecessary voice in the room and convinced Dumont to let him take over.

And now, it’s Cuban back in the saddle as Dallas pivots to focusing on building around Flagg, which likely means tearing down everything Harrison built, possibly starting with a trade of Davis.

It’s probably not news to any NBA fans that the Dallas Mavericks are experiencing some turbulence right now.

In 2025 alone, the franchise has traded away superstar Luka Dončić, spent months defending the decision, missed the playoffs after reaching the NBA Finals a year earlier, begun the 2025-26 season with a 4-11 record and, finally, fired general manager Nico Harrison, the man who pushed for the Dončić decision that has become perhaps the most criticized trade in the history of basketball.

And that’s just in the public sphere.

In private, according to ESPN’s Tim McMahon, there had been a push-and-pull between Harrison and minority owner Mark Cuban all the way up to the former’s firing, with majority owner Patrick Dumont in the middle. 

At one point, Cuban — who sold his majority stake in 2023 but claimed he would still oversee basketball decisions — was sidelined to the point that he learned about the Dončić trade at the same time as fans. As of last week, however, he was back in the circle of trust — and reportedly pushing for Dumont to fire the executive he himself hired in 2021.

Per ESPN, Cuban spent the summer criticizing Harrison’s roster construction with Dumont, flagging the roster’s lack of off-dribble creators and shooting. The team now ranks as the second-worst offense in the NBA by offensive rating, between the Washington Wizards and Tyrese Haliburton-less Indiana Pacers. The team’s lack of guard depth has been glaring this season, to the point that 18-year-old Cooper Flagg had to make his NBA debut out of position as the team’s starting point guard. 

With Harrison out, Dumont has reportedly gone with a “GM by committee” approach that involves interim co-general managers Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi (previously Harrison’s assistant general managers), head coach Jason Kidd and, of course, Cuban.

The arrangement will eventually be replaced when the Mavericks hire a full-time general manager, but for now, Cuban is happy, even if he still doesn’t have the control he once held. Per ESPN:

“He’s walking around on air right now,” a team source said. “Cuban’s floating in his Skechers.”

But Cuban isn’t returning to his shot-caller status within the Mavs. Nor will he ever. As one source put it, Cuban sold that right.

“He’s a consultant, not a decision-maker,” another source said. “But he’s at the table.”

Cuban is on the record multiple times as critical of the Dončić trade, both for the basic decision of letting go of the star he had installed as majority owner and for the shadowy process by which Harrison conducted the maneuver. In order to risk leaks — namely Dončić or Cuban finding out and trying to kill the deal — Harrison zeroed in on the Los Angeles Lakers as his trade partner and ultimately received only the oft-injured Anthony Davis, young guard Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick.

Nico Harrison had taken full control of Mavericks’ basketball decisions from Mark Cuban

Harrison being able to swing the deal reflects the full trust Dumont had in him at the time. Per ESPN, he took credit for the Mavericks’ Finals run in 2024, partially made possible by key trade deadline deals for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington, while also placing blame for the team’s five-game Finals loss to the Boston Celtics on Dončić’s defensive struggles. 

Ultimately, Harrison got the relationship to the point where the only person he had to keep happy was Dumont:

“Nico did a hell of a sales job,” a Mavs official said. “He took credit for everything that was done. When Patrick asked questions — asked how we got Kyrie, how the draft happened, etc. — [Harrison] said he was the guy. We got on a roll and went to the Finals. Fool’s gold.”

Dumont would occasionally ask Harrison to “keep Mark in the fold” regarding personnel discussions and decisions, sources said. Harrison would agree to do so before blowing it off. The contact at this point between Cuban and Dumont was minimal, given the team’s success. Cuban and Harrison rarely spoke to each other.

“Nico built the moat and put up the fence and said, ‘I got this!'” one source familiar with the dynamic between Harrison and Dumont said. “Clearly, that was the wrong strategy.”

Harrison’s concerns about Dončić as the Mavericks’ long-term franchise star were no secret. He repeatedly threw out the cliché “defense wins championships” while justifying a swap of Dončić for Davis and reportedly clashed with the Dončić camp over the recovery timeline of a calf strain.

Per ESPN, Harrison believed a five-year, $345 million supermax contract, which Dončić was about to be eligible for, would be an awful investment and said as much to Dumont, while pointing to conditioning concerns, poor off-court habits and recurring calf strains. He reportedly used Dončić’s hesitance to return from a calf strain as proof that he wasn’t fully committed to Dallas.

Meanwhile, Cuban reportedly chafed at his lack of control. Per ESPN, he privately claimed he only hired Harrison, previously a Nike executive with no front office experience, due to his relationships with players and agents, never planning for Harrison to actually be the decision-maker. After the sale, Harrison reportedly saw Cuban as an unnecessary voice in the room and convinced Dumont to let him take over.

And now, it’s Cuban back in the saddle as Dallas pivots to focusing on building around Flagg, which likely means tearing down everything Harrison built, possibly starting with a trade of Davis.

The first big deal of this MLB winter has been swung. Late Tuesday evening, the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Angels conducted a rare big leaguer for big leaguer deal, with right-handed starter Grayson Rodriguez headed to the Halos and outfielder Taylor Ward headed to the O’s.

It’s far from a blockbuster — neither player has ever made an All-Star team — but the swap is compelling nonetheless, in part for what it portends as these clubs move forward with their offseasons.

What kind of player is Taylor Ward?

The soon-to-be 32-year-old is coming off a career year in which he clocked 36 homers across 157 games, drove in 103 runs and finished with a .792 OPS. By most offensive metrics, he was easily a top-20 outfielder in the sport. Defensively, the former first-round draft pick is more solid than spectacular.

Ward will hit free agency after the 2026 season and is set to command around $13.5 million in arbitration salary this upcoming season. In a free-agent market relatively devoid of right-handed outfielders with power, Ward stood out as a potential trade chip. Now he’s an Oriole before Thanksgiving.

What kind of player is Grayson Rodriguez?

Taken 11th overall in the 2018 MLB Draft, “G-Rod” gradually blossomed into one of the most hyped pitching prospects in the sport. He debuted in 2023 with a heater that averaged an impressive 97.4 mph. Yet the offering’s suboptimal shape and Rodriguez’s middling command of the pitch meant that his fastball was absolutely clobbered.

He seemed to be taking a small step forward in 2024, but a lat issue in August shut him down for the remainder of the season. Things got worse in 2025 as Rodriguez, shelved with a cavalcade of ailments that included elbow inflammation, shoulder soreness and more lat pain, didn’t once climb a big league mound. He just turned 26 years old and is under contract for four more seasons, but the sheen has most certainly worn off as a result of his injury avalanche.

Why did the Orioles do this?

Mike Elias, Baltimore’s president of baseball operations, during last week’s general managers meetings told reporters that Rodriguez was not a lock for the club’s rotation, describing him as a “wild card.” That framing and the subsequent trade means the Orioles held significant doubts about whether Rodriguez will ever stay healthy enough for long enough to be an impact arm at the big league level. It’s another example of Elias, considered one of the league’s most calculating execs, taking emotion out of the equation in building a roster.

How Ward fits into the team’s outfield mix remains an open question, but he’s still a nice boost, particularly for a lineup that was quite bad against lefties last year. Before the deal, Baltimore’s Opening Day outfield would have likely featured Colton Cowser in center field, with last season’s free agent add Tyler O’Neill and rookie Dylan Beavers in the corners. Jeremiah Jackson, a post-hype prospect who showed very well in a small sample down the stretch in ‘25, also figures to be in the mix. Ward and O’Neill will play every day against southpaws if they’re healthy.

It’s quite obvious the O’s didn’t believe in Rodriguez anymore and were willing to pull the plug too soon as opposed to too late. The Angels were an eager dance partner and Ward was their most interesting trade chip.

Why did the Angels do this?

Because they need all the pitching help they can get.

For as bad as the O’s were on the mound last year, Los Angeles’ starters were even worse. The Angels finished 28th in ERA and strikeout rate, 29th in opposing OPS and dead last in walk rate. At this point, given his injuries, Rodriguez is far from a sure thing, but for the Angels his upside makes him a chance worth taking. That’s particularly true considering G-Rod still has four more years of control left. Players with his level of talent are difficult to acquire. The Halos saw an opening and acted.

Ward’s departure also helps to simplify the team’s outfield alignment. Mike Trout was almost exclusively a DH last year, which forced Jorge Soler into the grass and pushed Jo Adell, who enjoyed a splendid breakout in 2025, into center. Expect Adell to move back to a corner, where he fits better. Bryce Teodosio, a light-hitting speedster, is borderline transcendent in center and he could make an impact there if he hits just enough.

What does it mean for the Orioles moving forward?

Baltimore was going to refurbish its starting rotation via free agency or trade before this deal. Shipping G-Rod out only increases that chance. For the first time in his tenure, Elias has expressed a willingness to sign a free agent with a qualifying offer attached, which would necessitate the forfeiting of a high draft pick. That puts Ranger Suárez, Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez and Zac Gallen on the board. With a projected Opening Day rotation of Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells and Cade Povich the O’s probably need to add at least two more starters.

Adding Ward doesn’t completely forbid the addition of another bat, it just means said bat won’t be an outfielder. A first base/DH type like Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber or Ryan O’Hearn would make sense if the team is open to moving on from Ryan Mountcastle.

What does it mean for the Angels moving forward?

Offloading Ward’s $13.5 million contract gives GM Perry Minasian more flexibility in the free-agent market this winter. It’s unlikely the Halos go swimming in the deep end, even though Cody Bellinger would be a really nice fit in center field. The rotation could use a few more arms and the lineup has something of a black hole at third base, courtesy of Anthony Rendon’s descent into irrelevance.

The first big deal of this MLB winter has been swung. Late Tuesday evening, the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Angels conducted a rare big leaguer for big leaguer deal, with right-handed starter Grayson Rodriguez headed to the Halos and outfielder Taylor Ward headed to the O’s.

It’s far from a blockbuster — neither player has ever made an All-Star team — but the swap is compelling nonetheless, in part for what it portends as these clubs move forward with their offseasons.

What kind of player is Taylor Ward?

The soon-to-be 32-year-old is coming off a career year in which he clocked 36 homers across 157 games, drove in 103 runs and finished with a .792 OPS. By most offensive metrics, he was easily a top-20 outfielder in the sport. Defensively, the former first-round draft pick is more solid than spectacular.

Ward will hit free agency after the 2026 season and is set to command around $13.5 million in arbitration salary this upcoming season. In a free-agent market relatively devoid of right-handed outfielders with power, Ward stood out as a potential trade chip. Now he’s an Oriole before Thanksgiving.

What kind of player is Grayson Rodriguez?

Taken 11th overall in the 2018 MLB Draft, “G-Rod” gradually blossomed into one of the most hyped pitching prospects in the sport. He debuted in 2023 with a heater that averaged an impressive 97.4 mph. Yet the offering’s suboptimal shape and Rodriguez’s middling command of the pitch meant that his fastball was absolutely clobbered.

He seemed to be taking a small step forward in 2024, but a lat issue in August shut him down for the remainder of the season. Things got worse in 2025 as Rodriguez, shelved with a cavalcade of ailments that included elbow inflammation, shoulder soreness and more lat pain, didn’t once climb a big league mound. He just turned 26 years old and is under contract for four more seasons, but the sheen has most certainly worn off as a result of his injury avalanche.

Why did the Orioles do this?

Mike Elias, Baltimore’s president of baseball operations, during last week’s general managers meetings told reporters that Rodriguez was not a lock for the club’s rotation, describing him as a “wild card.” That framing and the subsequent trade means the Orioles held significant doubts about whether Rodriguez will ever stay healthy enough for long enough to be an impact arm at the big league level. It’s another example of Elias, considered one of the league’s most calculating execs, taking emotion out of the equation in building a roster.

How Ward fits into the team’s outfield mix remains an open question, but he’s still a nice boost, particularly for a lineup that was quite bad against lefties last year. Before the deal, Baltimore’s Opening Day outfield would have likely featured Colton Cowser in center field, with last season’s free agent add Tyler O’Neill and rookie Dylan Beavers in the corners. Jeremiah Jackson, a post-hype prospect who showed very well in a small sample down the stretch in ‘25, also figures to be in the mix. Ward and O’Neill will play every day against southpaws if they’re healthy.

It’s quite obvious the O’s didn’t believe in Rodriguez anymore and were willing to pull the plug too soon as opposed to too late. The Angels were an eager dance partner and Ward was their most interesting trade chip.

Why did the Angels do this?

Because they need all the pitching help they can get.

For as bad as the O’s were on the mound last year, Los Angeles’ starters were even worse. The Angels finished 28th in ERA and strikeout rate, 29th in opposing OPS and dead last in walk rate. At this point, given his injuries, Rodriguez is far from a sure thing, but for the Angels his upside makes him a chance worth taking. That’s particularly true considering G-Rod still has four more years of control left. Players with his level of talent are difficult to acquire. The Halos saw an opening and acted.

Ward’s departure also helps to simplify the team’s outfield alignment. Mike Trout was almost exclusively a DH last year, which forced Jorge Soler into the grass and pushed Jo Adell, who enjoyed a splendid breakout in 2025, into center. Expect Adell to move back to a corner, where he fits better. Bryce Teodosio, a light-hitting speedster, is borderline transcendent in center and he could make an impact there if he hits just enough.

What does it mean for the Orioles moving forward?

Baltimore was going to refurbish its starting rotation via free agency or trade before this deal. Shipping G-Rod out only increases that chance. For the first time in his tenure, Elias has expressed a willingness to sign a free agent with a qualifying offer attached, which would necessitate the forfeiting of a high draft pick. That puts Ranger Suárez, Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez and Zac Gallen on the board. With a projected Opening Day rotation of Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells and Cade Povich the O’s probably need to add at least two more starters.

Adding Ward doesn’t completely forbid the addition of another bat, it just means said bat won’t be an outfielder. A first base/DH type like Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber or Ryan O’Hearn would make sense if the team is open to moving on from Ryan Mountcastle.

What does it mean for the Angels moving forward?

Offloading Ward’s $13.5 million contract gives GM Perry Minasian more flexibility in the free-agent market this winter. It’s unlikely the Halos go swimming in the deep end, even though Cody Bellinger would be a really nice fit in center field. The rotation could use a few more arms and the lineup has something of a black hole at third base, courtesy of Anthony Rendon’s descent into irrelevance.