ANAHEIM, Calif. — For the first time in over a month, right-hander Grayson Rodriguez faced live hitters.
It’s a huge step for Rodriguez, who hasn’t pitched since a spring training start on March 11 due to dead arm, which was later listed as shoulder inflammation when he was placed on the 15-day injured list just before the regular season started.
Rodriguez threw two innings and roughly 30 pitches total, while facing infielder Vaughn Grissom, outfielder Bryce Teodosio and first base and outfield coach Adam Eaton, who retired after the 2021 season with the Angels.
“Felt great to finally see hitters in the box again,” Rodriguez said. “Coming out, my arms feeling strong and ready to go.”
The Angels have been slow-playing his recovery due to his injury history. Rodriguez has dealt with elbow and lat issues that have sidelined him for the better part of the 2024 and 2025 seasons before this shoulder injury.
Throughout the slow recovery process, Rodriguez has been honing in on the details of his game that were lagging at the start of spring training. In his live batting practice session on Monday, Rodriguez felt the improvements.
“The stuff is there,” Rodriguez said. “Really happy with where that's at. I think I had really good stuff in spring training, and I think the command was the issue there. But having these down weeks and having some bullpens to work on some stuff, I think the command is a lot better than what it was during spring.”
The Angels will assess how Rodriguez feels coming out of this on Tuesday and then figure out the next step. Rodriguez said the goal is to increase the pitch count each live session, but that will depend on how his shoulder responds.
Manager Kurt Suzuki said he’s not sure when Rodriguez will begin his rehab assignment, but he likes what he’s seen so far.
“I was watching his bullpens leading up to this, and you could see him progressively start climbing,” Suzuki said. “To go against hitters, I think the juices were flowing a little bit, seeing batters in there. Everything looked good.”
Although the Angels want to take their time with his recovery, they need Rodriguez back. The Angels have struggled to find an answer for the fifth spot in the rotation with right-hander Ryan Johnson on the injured list with a viral infection, and No. 4 prospect George Klassen struggled in his first two big league starts.
The Angels have had eight different pitches start a game for them this year. Six other teams have eight different pitchers, and only two have more than that, with the Milwaukee Brewers having nine and the Houston Astros having 10.