The Baltimore Orioles have traded a top-of-the-order bat.
Outfielder Taylor Ward has been dealt from the Orioles to the Seattle Mariners, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported on Monday.
The return package for Baltimore was not initially reported.
Fresh off a career-best 36-home run season with the Los Angeles Angels, Ward was traded to the Orioles for Grayson Rodriguez in the off-season as he entered the final year of his deal.
However, both Ward and the team have come up short of expectations. On the season, the 32-year-old outfielder has seven home runs, 30 RBIs and a .730 OPS as the Orioles sit at 54-58, good for fourth in the AL East.
This set up Baltimore to sell Ward’s expiring contract, and he’ll now serve as a rental bat in Seattle's lineup as it attempts to clinch a post-season berth.
