Angels SP Grayson Rodriguez joins FT: Working with Mike Maddux, Mike Trout camaraderie rivalry brewing

00:00:04
Speaker 1: It's Grayson Rodriguez of the Angels joining us back on FT. Uh does it feel more normal this time around? So this is the second time we've spoken to you since we've introduced you this way.

00:00:14
Speaker 2: Does it feel more normal now?

00:00:17
Speaker 3: Oh? Yeah, for sure? Yeah, definitely. I mean getting ready to roll, ready to go to spring training. Already been out to the complex in Arizona. I think, you know, the last time I talked to you, all hadn't been there yet. I think the trade was pretty fresh. So uh, yeah, I've been talking to a lot of the staff and now it feels like home and and ready to ready to get the season started.

00:00:37
Speaker 2: How was the trip to the facility in Arizona? Who did you meet with? What did they tell you?

00:00:43
Speaker 3: Yeah, so some of the strength staff was there, a couple of other players, But yeah, I got to go out there work out for a few days. Obviously, the facility is super nice, brand new. I think they had just finished it within in the last year, I want to say, so definitely an upgrade for me. But yeah, super excited. You know obviously, you know, lifting around stuff in the weight room. Uh, you know, ran around a little bit, didn't do too much out on the fields. But uh, but yeah, I got to throw and they have a super nice indoor lab, super cool, so I excited to get to use all that stuff.

00:01:16
Speaker 4: Did you talk to anybody about it what it used to look like? And people been like, hey, it's a good thing. Like do they keep the tent up that they used to have their weight room in just for like just for like, you know, remembering sake.

00:01:31
Speaker 3: Yeah, so there's definitely a few people that said that, you know, it used to not be that nice. So definitely pretty fortunate that I picked the right time to join an organization. You know, they were telling me some old stories about it and whatnot. But but yeah, thankfully I don't have to deal with it or you know, I don't even have it pictured in my head. But yeah, so when I show up here in the next couple of weeks, there's gonna be a nice facility waiting on me.

00:01:54
Speaker 5: Let me ask you this. So you've you've been in the facility.

00:01:57
Speaker 6: You have you talked or seeing Kurtzuzuki and Mike Maddox a little bit?

00:02:01
Speaker 5: Have you guys had conversations?

00:02:04
Speaker 3: Yeah, obviously talk to them a couple of times each. You know, awesome guys. Hear a lot about mad Dog, I guess is what some of the guys call him. But uh, yeah, I heard some really good things about Kurt. You know. I had some guys that some veterans in Baltimore that had played with Kurt, you know, really loved him as a catcher. So you know, they're excited to see what he can do as a manager, and you know, I'm kind of in the same boat. You know, I'm excited to see what he has to offer for us.

00:02:30
Speaker 4: Yeah, mad Dogs, Mad Dog's gonna hold his mustache. He's gonna hold his mustache on, and he's gonna put his hand everybody said it, put his hand on so he feels the pulse. But I told every picture that I ever played with that had him, just don't think about it. He's not covering his mouth. He's holding his mustache on because it's fake. So every time he does this and he's talking to you, I want you to think about that.

00:02:53
Speaker 3: Okay, all right, fake stash, got it?

00:02:57
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, like the ones where he glue it behind there, like it would be super weird if it like flops off and he's like talking to He was like, Grace, what I really need you to. Nope, he's just holding it up there. He's holding it up there so so you can't see it. What are some of the things that he said besides, Man, I've watched you from Afar and I really like how you got a million dollar arm and you know all that kind of stuff.

00:03:19
Speaker 3: Not that you yes, sir, Yeah, I mean mad He's you know, one of the first things we talked about was he got to watch me make my debut in twenty three, so I got called up. We were in Texas playing the Rangers. You know, obviously he was a pitching coach there, so he got to watch that. But man, just kind of getting back to the basics, you know, I mean kind of you know, I hear mad Dog's kind of got a little bit of an old school mindset, and for me, I think that could work really well, just kind of getting back to the basics and you know, attacking hitters, you know, not necessarily wondering about how many pitches we're gonna throw, how many times we're gonna throw them, just going out and you know, seeing how many outs we can get, you know, every five or six days. I think is gonna be the goal. And uh, man, it's it's got me excited for sure.

00:04:07
Speaker 4: Do you look good in red?

00:04:11
Speaker 3: I think so. I mean my mom says so. But you know, I mean, you know, your mom's gotta you know, your mom's got to hype you up. So uh yeah, I've definitely definitely heard from all my family members, my wife, everybody that they definitely love red more than they love orange. I think everybody's kind of excited to get to ditch the black and orange and finally get some red in there.

00:04:30
Speaker 6: For sure, you are an avid hunter, as you can see in your back wall. Have you uh asked, uh maybe anybody on the Angels? Have you hunted anybody or you know, hung out with any of the guys, and if so, like tell us about them, like talk to me about you know, if there's anybody you talked to or hung out with.

00:04:49
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean obviously you know I hadn't got to, you know, talk to everybody yet talk to out for a couple of years now about some some hunt and stuff. And you know, I know he attempts to hunt. If he sees this, you know, I might get a text message here pretty soon. But uh yeah, thinks he's the best hunter. He thinks he's the best white tail hunter in the big leagues. That's not the case. So you're seeing it. You're seeing it right now, you know, you're seeing it behind me. You know, not all these are mine. I won't take credit for all of them, you know about half of them, or my wife. But but yeah, we like to hunt. Yeah, love to hunt, love to eat them. The venison is the best part about it. You know, you can go to the grocer shore or pick up some beef. You're not really sure what's in that beef, but uh, I know what I'm getting out of that behind me, so for sure.

00:05:33
Speaker 1: Hey, do you think you can create a relationship with Trouty like you have with Ryan Mountcastle where you guys can just talk shit during spring training and all of that and have a good time, right, Like that would be kind of fun. You got to bring something like that over to the Angels. They might have something already with some dynamics, but I know that was a fun part of what you guys had going with the Oils, and frankly, I think they're going to miss that.

00:05:56
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't. I don't know if trout you know, Trole's taking me deep. I think he took me deep in twenty four, but he didn't give me the bird, And like Mountie, did you know they're spring training? So yeah, that was a little bit different about it. But yeah, definitely gonna miss those relationships. But I have a feeling I have a hunch that we're gonna make some more. So I already been talking to some of these guys, and you know, they love to talk a lot of trash and that's right up my alley. So I think I think I'll be just fine.

00:06:24
Speaker 2: I like it.

00:06:25
Speaker 1: Hey, while we're on that topic, what do you think of the situation for your boy, Ryan Mountcastle heading into the season.

00:06:32
Speaker 2: I mean, they have the DH spot and stuff like that.

00:06:34
Speaker 1: But have you followed what the Orioles have been up to since you were traded away? I mean they signed Lumberjack polar bear named Pete Alonzo, so they've certainly done a lot activity wise.

00:06:46
Speaker 2: But how do you think the puzzle pieces will fit? I guess I'll put it this way too.

00:06:51
Speaker 1: You know, at times on our show we were critical in the past where we felt like they were holding on to prospects for trades, then weren't making them, and then it was actually causing this logjam with the position players, so it's hard for you to establish yourself if you're not getting time. You could put Kobe Mayo in that conversation too. It appears like some of that will start to open up. But I mean, I'm sure you'd agree it can hurt your development. If you're up, you're down, you're barely getting playing time after you were a star in the minor leagues.

00:07:19
Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely you could kind of see it like with the position players. You know, like guys I don't like Kobe, like you're saying, you know, guys that probably are good enough to be playing in the big leagues, and then you know there's a lot kind of going on that, you know, just out of their control. But you know, Mawnie's an awesome guy. You know, whether he's playing in Baltimore, if he's playing somewhere else. I mean, whoever's going to have him is going to be lucky to have him. I Mean, you know, he's great in the he's great in the clubhouse. You know, you kind of know what you're gonna get on the field. You know, he's awesome. You know, as far as paying attention to what the Orioles have done, you know. I mean I still talk to, you know, some of those guys that I was close with, so you know, you kind of still hear bits and pieces of it. But I mean, man, you know, it's kind of in the past for me, you know. I mean obviously you said they've signed some guys. I mean, yeah, I mean I see that. You know, if you get you know, turn TV on or you know whatever, it's kind of hard to you know, not know what's going on in the league. But yeah, I mean for me, you know, it's just focusing on you know, the Angels and you know, spring training and making sure my body's healthy and everything ready and getting ready to get rolling. But yeah, Free Agency. You know, you kind of still watch it, you know, you see it on your phone or you getting alert or whatever. I mean, you just kind of know what's going on. But but yeah, I hadn't really been paying too much attention to it.

00:08:33
Speaker 4: You throw away all your oriol stuff. You talk about turning the page. I still have I don't have anything on right now, but I usually have. I usually have something from the fourteen different organizations I played for. So but at the end of the year, you throw it away. Now that you got traded and we've had some time since the last time we talked. Have you given it to gift and thrift or some type of thrift store.

00:08:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely, we've definitely given a lot of it away. I wish i'd say we've given it all away, but I mean it's been hard because every time we get rid of a box, we find another box, and then there's just more boxes, and it's like you know, over the years, you know, the boxes just stack up, and then you just find a closet to just shove it into and then you know, you start you they start popping up all over the place. So yeah, we've definitely gotten rid of a lot of it, and we still got some more to go.

00:09:25
Speaker 4: Is this something you found that was like, ah, man, Like I like, I want to keep that, Like obviously Jersey you that kind of thing. Was there something you found during that time that you were like, ah man, Yeah, I think I might keep that, like a Homer hose or.

00:09:39
Speaker 3: Something no Homer host But but I mean I don't know. I mean, you know, some some boxes, you know, you open up and it's like stuff from the minor leagues, like a long time ago, and like when I say, long time ago, like twenty nineteen, you know, twenty twenty whatever. Some of that stuff's kind of cool, and be like, ah, man, I can't get rid of that. It's like, that's my first pair of professional socks, you know, can't throw those away? But uh, but no, I mean, I don't know, there's nothing really from the big leagues that you know, I haven't been able to get rid of. I mean, what's nice about being in the big leagues? You know, you show up in your lockers full different you know, in minor league camp where you show up and there's one T shirt, a pair of shorts and that's about it. But it's definitely a lot easier to get rid of that stuff in the big leagues. So to the you know, to the to the trash. Some stuff it's just nasty that nobody's gonna wear that goes in the garbage. But if not, it's going down the street to Goodwill.

00:10:32
Speaker 5: All right.

00:10:33
Speaker 4: This is the only area that I can ever give a player like you advice changing teams, will you or will you not? And I'll baste my reaction on it based on what you say. Come into Angels camp in February with an Oriole's bag with all your stuff across your shoulder to go into Angels camp and then have them trade your bag out.

00:10:59
Speaker 3: You know, I mean, I really don't know what to do about that because I think, you know, I see, I was still I was I was in the last phase of my rehab when I got traded, so like I was already throwing you know, pretty much full go. So I still had a locker there in Sarasota, and I had asked them to ship the things I had in that locker to Arizona. So I don't know if that's been done or not. You know, I had to check on it the other day. But so hopefully you know, the Orioles aren't keeping my stuff. But uh, you know, I don't know. I mean, maybe, you know, maybe I could show up with like some Walmart bags, maybe like a Camo Duffel bag, you know, like maybe we can you know, throw a wrinkling it a little bit. But uh yeah, I mean, I don't even know if I have an Orioles bag here. To be honest with you, so.

00:11:47
Speaker 4: Choice my suggestion to you is show up in a Camo bag, show up in a your high school bag. Something you probably made like nine high school all star teams, So maybe like one of those, like you're or maybe an agent backpack or just go old school and carry you're all very please and your glove in and be like you guys, got a bag or something and I could put.

00:12:12
Speaker 3: This in a cart. Maybe get a cart rolled out to the cart huh yeah something, Yeah, just pull up with a shopping cart.

00:12:20
Speaker 5: Maybe I'll do that.

00:12:21
Speaker 4: I like that. I like that last one from me on the Angels specifically, when you look at this team and now you've had time to digest that you're on this team, do you sit there and say, man, I watched Alec manoah pitch. I watched this guy pitch before. Guys, you know, they're kind of like buying low hopefully they you know, they hit the lottery ticket type of pitchers.

00:12:47
Speaker 5: And do you.

00:12:47
Speaker 4: Say, man, we're gonna be pretty good because you only see the positive, the positive like gleamings of like, oh wow, this guy is awesome, this guy was an All Star. Or are you realistic when you're evaluating your future teammates that you actually haven't even actually been on the field with yet.

00:13:07
Speaker 3: No, I mean obviously you know, like I've looked at the roster, and I mean, to be honest with you, it kind of it kind of reminds me of like how we were in Baltimore in twenty twenty three. You know, lots of like I'm not gonna say super young guys, but lots of younger guys, you know, and then you have like darnol veteran catcher, you know, and then you got a hoppy it's kind of like a Richman mccayn kind of mixed to me, like that was the first thing that popped out, you know, I mean being a pitcher, you know, you're you're looking at your catchers and you're like, Okay, you know, these are the guys that I'm gonna work with the most. And so that's kind of what I thought about. You know, first I was like all right, and then you know, you kind of look at you know, everything else, and I don't know, baseball is just a weird sport where like, you know, it's just hard to predict like what's gonna happen. You know, obviously, teams that spend a lot of money, you think, yeah, they're gonna have success, or you know, they've got a lot of big names in the lineup. Sometimes the lineups, like is from a pitcher's perspective, sometimes the hardest lineups to pitch, too, are not necessarily the most expensive ones, if that makes sense. Like, if there's a lot of gritty grinders in that lineup, maybe I'm not gonna say no name guys everybody. You know, you pretty much know everybody in the big leagues. But like, there's some lineups that'll get you, you know, if you're not careful and if you're not paying attention, and like, I don't know, that's something that I've kind of seen is you know, you know you're playing a team like the Dodgers or the Yankees, and you're like, Okay, they spend a lot of money. Sometimes those aren't always you know, the hardest games to pitch. You know, it could be somebody else, uh, you know, a younger team that's really gonna punch you in the mouth if you're not careful with them. So that's kind of what I'm looking at it. As you know, coming into this season with LA all.

00:14:45
Speaker 4: Right, always want to embarrass a player, a new player to a new team. So I have one piece of trivia for you. Okay, you have a teammate Kirby Yates.

00:14:56
Speaker 5: Do you know what.

00:15:00
Speaker 2: His purchase did?

00:15:03
Speaker 5: Yeah?

00:15:03
Speaker 4: What he did? What he did after they won the World Series at Mookie Betts's World Series party?

00:15:13
Speaker 3: What he did?

00:15:15
Speaker 4: What he did? What he he said? If we win the World Series, I will do this.

00:15:22
Speaker 3: Mmm. Got man by a tractor.

00:15:30
Speaker 4: He got a tattoo on his butt cheek? And will you last longer than a day meeting him without saying I want to see that?

00:15:39
Speaker 3: That sit?

00:15:42
Speaker 5: Well?

00:15:42
Speaker 3: I mean no, I guess I know he's got a tattoo on his butt cheek thanks to you. So uh yeah, I mean that. I'll have to ask him about it. You know, I don't know if I want to look at it. Maybe I'll have to ask him about it.

00:15:53
Speaker 4: You're gonna look at it. You're gonna be in the shower, and they're gonna call you. They're gonna call you. Eyes up, Grayson, like honestly, like, keep the keep the eyes up. But I will tell you what the tattoo is. I'm sure you could google it and you would find it real quick.

00:16:08
Speaker 1: Oh, tell him, I'll tell him. It's it's more fun to tell him. So he's got the icebreaker right from the jump. So it's okay. So his name's Kirby.

00:16:18
Speaker 5: Right.

00:16:18
Speaker 1: There's a famous character, video game character, and cartoon character, Kirby, right, you know, the puffy yellow Kirby.

00:16:25
Speaker 5: Dude.

00:16:26
Speaker 3: Yeahs that like Pokemon or something.

00:16:28
Speaker 1: I don't know if Kirby's a Pokemon or if it looks it's similar, though it looks pokemon ish, yes, and it's it's honestly a little before your time. It's like when I was growing up, and I'm probably about ten years older than you. So it's Kirby with World Series trophy. So he was like, I'm getting.

00:16:45
Speaker 2: A tattoo on my ass if we win a world series and he got it.

00:16:48
Speaker 1: So anyway, you have a teammate like that, who apparently is a very fun teammate to have, so just look forward to that. That's like a sneaky one where you guys probably haven't crossed paths yet, but I guarantee you when we talked during the season for these spots, you're gonna be like, dude, that Kirby yates. He gets me fired up. He's freaking hilarious.

00:17:05
Speaker 5: Yeah.

00:17:05
Speaker 3: I mean, maybe I'll look forward to meet Kirby, but I'm not you know, maybe not me looking forward to looking at his butt cheek. Let's put it that way, so.

00:17:12
Speaker 4: You see or you don't see it, Like, let's just be honest, all right, Grayson, I get it's not your first butt cheek.

00:17:17
Speaker 2: You're saying he's gonna make everyone see it. I'm sure he will.

00:17:21
Speaker 1: He will put on a show at some point and say, hey, everyone, this is what we're chasing. We're chasing not just titles, but we're chasing tattoos on our asses. So anyway, just a little icebreaker when you meet Kirby coming up.

00:17:37
Speaker 5: Yeah, there we go.

00:17:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly.

00:17:40
Speaker 1: Well, enjoy the what last few weeks you got here at home, and then we will be out in Arizona.

00:17:46
Speaker 2: We'll catch out there.

00:17:47
Speaker 3: All right, sounds good man, see out there.

00:17:50
Speaker 5: He let me finish with this. That's funny you bring that up.

00:17:53
Speaker 6: I texted Trout and I said, you're not the king of white tail deer or whatever, because Grayson says he's he's the king out of He said, he's lying. He said they're all raised deer pen dear, he called them. So they're all enclosed in a fence. So he he looked. I took a picture. He looked at him. He says, no chance. Those are all those are easy ones right there. He's saying, So we'd have to get a little challenge going on or something. I'm not I'm not a hunter. I've never hunted before. I don't think I ever will. But we got we got a little challenge here. Spring training could be interesting.

00:18:24
Speaker 4: Like Trout likes his cameo.

00:18:27
Speaker 2: He's Rambo.

00:18:32
Speaker 1: Just send him a Ramo picture, Rambo picture. Back to know, right, he probably watching this like, huh, look it up.

00:18:41
Speaker 5: Kids with Charlie Sheen, the old Charlie Sheen one that was fun.

00:18:47
Speaker 2: What was the well, no, they had the.

00:18:50
Speaker 5: That was the fun I think that was the I don't know what one. Yeah, this funny one.

00:18:55
Speaker 4: Yeah, hot shots, that's what it was, all man.

00:19:03
Speaker 5: Yeah,