The Orioles acquired outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez from the Guardians in exchange for minor league right-hander Carter Rustad, MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins. reports. The two teams have each officially announced the trade, and the Orioles optioned Rodriguez to Triple-A.
Rodriguez is a veteran of 44 big league games, all with the Guardians in 2024-25. A third-round pick for Cleveland in the 2017 draft, Rodriguez has been crushing minor league pitching for four years now, and he has a .301/.390/.535 slash line and 56 homers over 1083 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. In the majors, however, Rodriguez has hit only .176/.282/.304 with 36 strikeouts over his 117 PA in a Guards uniform, as his struggles with advanced spin rates have been highlighted against upper-level pitchers.
It was enough for the Guardians to designate Rodriguez for assignment in advance of Opening Day, and Baltimore stepped up with a trade offer to bring the 26-year-old outfielder into the organization. Rodriguez has a minor league option remaining, so he’ll provide the O’s with some depth at the very least, even if it remains unclear where exactly Rodriguez could fit onto their 26-man roster unless an injury arises.
Baltimore is already juggling Taylor Ward, Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Beavers, Leody Taveras, and utilitymen Jeremiah Jackson and Blaze Alexander as candidates for outfield duty. Jackson and Alexander will probably see more time on the infield with Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg still on the injured list, however, creating more need for an optionable outfielder like Rodriguez to be part of the mix at Triple-A. It could also be that the Orioles’ evaluators see Rodriguez as a project to be fixed, as his hitting potential and strong throwing arm make him an interesting player to watch if he learns how to handle movement.
Rustad is a few weeks away from his 25th birthday, and the righty was a 15th-round pick for Baltimore in the 2024 draft. The Mizzou product has worked almost exclusively as a reliever in pro ball, and he posted a 3.23 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate, and 10.1% walk rate across 53 total minor league innings in 2025, moving from A-ball to high-A to Double-A before the year was out.
