Mariners acquire impact outfielder in trade with Orioles

The Mariners appear to have landed Ward without giving up too much in value. The 32-year-old is one of the more prominent outfield names on the market, though he is a free agent at the end of the season and purely a rental.

Ward is hitting .246 on the season with seven home runs. His primary asset is his ability to get on base, as he leads the American League with 87 walks and has a .383 on-base percentage. He did hit 36 home runs last season, so he is capable of hitting for more power than he has so far this year.

Both the Mariners and Orioles find themselves in somewhat awkward spots on the deadline. Seattle is 55-58, but just three games back in the AL West and two games out of the final AL Wild Card spot. The Orioles are not a factor in the AL East, but are only 2.5 games back of that last Wild Card spot.

There had even been reports that the Mariners were open to trading some of their more prominent players. While they did deal Luis Castillo to the White Sox on Sunday, that might wind up being as far as they go in that department.