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.
Minor league right-handers Alex Hoppe, Brock Moore and Harrison Kreiling are going back to Baltimore in the trade.
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.
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