Mariners To Acquire Taylor Ward

Ward, 32, has been a middle-of-the-order power hitter for most of his career. With the Angels from 2022 to 2025, he hit at least 23 home runs in three of those four seasons, including 36 last year. The one exception was 2023, when injuries limited him to just 97 games and 14 home runs.

The Orioles acquired him ahead of this season, sending former pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez the other way. Ward has had a productive season but in an unexpected way. He only has seven home runs but his 17.2% walk rate is a massive jump from last year’s 11.3% pace. His strikeout rate has also fallen from last year’s 26.4% pace to this year’s 20.4%. wRC+ still considers him equally productive, as his 117 mark this year is an exact match for the previous season. He’s just getting to that production in a very different way.

On the whole, Baltimore’s season has not gone as hoped. They are 54-58. That only puts them 2.5 games out of a playoff spot in the weak American League field but they would have to leapfrog four teams to get into the postseason.

President of baseball operations Mike Elias said this week that the club would both buy and sell ahead of the deadline, though they seem to have been leaning more to the sell side so far. Ward is an impending free agent and trading doesn’t necessarily equal the waving of a white flag but the O’s have also traded Dean Kremer to the Twins and are reportedly working on a deal that would send Adley Rutschman to the Red Sox. Time will tell if they do any serious buying or if they focus more on the future.

The Mariners aren’t much better. Their 55-58 record is only half a game better than the O’s. However, they have stronger incentive to push in since they have a shot at their division. The O’s are buried beneath the Rays, Yankees and Red Sox but Seattle is in a tighter race in the West. The Rangers are half a game up on the Mariners but might be leaning into sell mode. The Mariners could try to make a run at the Astros, with a three-game gap currently separating those clubs.

The M’s have already been busy. They traded Luis Castillo to the White Sox in a deal that netted them reliever Seranthony Domínguez, in addition to giving them some cost savings and a couple of minor leaguers. They could perhaps trade another starter, with Emerson Hancock and George Kirby having been in rumors.

For now, they are adding a notable hitter to their lineup, something they have clearly needed. The fact that Ward is a righty is also notable, since the lineup otherwise leans to the other side. Cole Young, Dominic Canzone, Josh Naylor, Colt Emerson, Luke Raley, Brendan Donovan and J.P. Crawford are all lefties. The latter three are on the injured list at the moment but the M’s clearly need some more balance and Ward provides that.

The M’s have Julio Rodríguez and Randy Arozarena in two outfield spots, though Arozarena has been in some trade rumors himself. For now, he’s still a Mariner, so Seattle can go with those three in the outfield, with Canzone, Víctor Robles and others in the mix for time in the outfield and the designated hitter slot. Raley will also be in there once he’s off the IL. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports that the M’s don’t intend to move Arozarena after this deal.

To upgrade the lineup, the M’s are subtracting a few younger guys. Hoppe was just acquired from the Red Sox in the most recent offseason. His first 28 big league innings have resulted in an unimpressive 5.79 earned run average but with better numbers under the hood. His 27.6% strikeout rate is actually quite a strong number and his 8.9% walk rate right around average. The high ERA is due to a tiny 49.7% strand rate and high .333 batting average on balls in play. His 2.88 FIP and 3.13 SIERA look much nicer. He can jump right into Baltimore’s relief mix, still has a full slate of options and has less than a year of service time.

Moore, 26, was a seventh-round pick in 2024 and has been a reliever throughout his professional career. This year, he has a 3.72 ERA in 38 2/3 innings split between High-A and Double-A. His 12.6% walk rate is a bit high but he has a massive 42.1% strikeout rate and his 49.3% ground ball rate is also good. Baseball America currently lists him as Seattle’s #24 prospect, noting that he could be an elite reliever with improved command. His fastball can touch triple digits and his slider gets high praise.

Kreiling, 24, was a 17th-round pick in 2024 who signed with a modest $50K bonus. He spent all of 2025 on the injured list. This year, he has made just four appearances, three in the Complex League and one at the Single-A level. He has a 1.69 ERA in 10 2/3 innings of work. He’s a long-term project for the O’s.

The Mariners presumably feel they did well to add an everyday bat to their lineup without parting with any really notable prospects. They are taking on about $3.6MM of Ward’s $12.715MM salary, unless there is some money changing hands in this deal.

For the O’s, they seem to feel these three arms were the best they could do in parting with Ward. What’s unclear now is if they have a buy-side move to replace him in the outfield or if they will go with internal options. They could run out an outfield of guys like Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser, Leody Taveras, Tyler O’Neill and others but they could also perhaps pick up someone else before the day is done. With Ward going out the door and maybe Rutschman as well, they are one of the most interesting on-the-fence teams with just a few hours remaining until the deadline.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported that Ward was headed to the Mariners. Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun first reported the return. Photo courtesy of Eric Canha, Jim Rassol, Steven Bisig, Imagn Images