The 2025 Orioles struggled to hit home runs, so Mike Elias went into the off-season with a goal of acquiring some boppers. His first move came early, on November 19th, when he traded starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez for longtime Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward.
Ward was coming off of 36 home runs with the Angels and had hit over 20 in two of his last three seasons. He wasn’t a prolific power hitter, but he seemed like he a good bet to be among the team leaders. It’s a bet I would have
lost, as Ward’s power disappeared almost completely.
The Angels selected Ward in the first round of the 2015 draft; he made his Major League debut in 2018 and went on to play 704 games for the team over eight seasons. He didn’t start playing full time until 2022, when he had 23 home runs and a .360 OBP in 135 games. In 2025, Ward hit .227.317/.475 with 36 home runs, a career high. The OBP wasn’t impressive, but the home runs sure were. And his OPS+ of 120 would have made him one of the most valuable bats in the Orioles’ lineup.
With one year left before free agency and Ward slated to make over $10 million in arbitration, the Angels were ready to part ways with the slugger. Over in Baltimore, Mike Elias had seen enough of the always-injured Grayson Rodriguez. Rodriguez won’t be a free agent until 2030, and he was a top prospect with the Orioles. He had a solid 2024 before a season-ending injury stretched into all of 2025 as well. It was still shocking to see the Orioles cut ties with him when for so many years he was considered the pitcher of the future.
But whether it was his troublesome medicals or just a hunch by Elias, Rodriguez was sent packing in exchange for Ward. The Angels got a talented but flawed pitcher with plenty of time ahead of him. The Orioles got a player who might help them get back to the postseason in 2026.
The thing is, Taylor Ward wasn’t very good. Or at least, he wasn’t good offensively in the way the team expected. Defensively, he was a nightmare.
The season started off well for Ward. He didn’t hit the promised home runs, but he was a double-machine. Through his first 13 games, he had 19 hits. 10 of them were doubles. Surely as the weather warmed, those doubles would turn into home runs, right? And in the meantime, it was fun to call him Taylor Two Bags.
But after that quick start, Ward stopped getting extra-base hits. After racking up 10 doubles through 13 games, he had just three in his next 18. He finally hit his first home run on April 19th, which was a relief. That’s what he was here for! But his second home run didn’t come until a month later. He ended the season with just seven. And after his initial burst of 10 doubles, he hit just 10 more over the rest of the season. Taylor Two Bags had turned into Taylor Too Bad.
Something weird happened with Ward, though. He started taking walks like crazy. Ward has never been terrible at walks, but it became almost comical in 2025. In May, he had an OBP of .348 despite a batting average of just .182. He took 33 walks in the month! With 81 walks, he had a walk rate of 17.2% for the year, well above his career average.
So that was Ward on offense. Weirdly good at taking walks and disappointing in almost every other way. And speaking of disappointing: his defense.
Ward manned left field exclusively for the Orioles, which was hard to watch. He took bad routes, had bad range, and a mediocre arm. So he did not help the Orioles defensively, nor did he bring the power Mike Elias was hoping for.
When the trade deadline approached with the Orioles in the midst of another disappointing year, Elias sent Ward packing. The Seattle Mariners, clinging to the fringes of the playoff race, took a chance on him. They sent the Orioles three relief pitchers in return. Harrison Kreiling and Brock Moore went to the minors, and Alex Hoppe joined the big-league team. Hoppe, who had been terrible with the Mariners, became a solid contributor out of the bullpen. He should be in the mix for a spot next season.
As for Ward, his time in Seattle was terrible. In 101 plate appearances, Ward got just 11 hits. As a Mariner, he had 10 singles and one triple. No doubles, no home runs. He did take 12 walks. Between his time with the Orioles and Mariners, he had 99 total.
Now Ward heads into free agency in a pickle. He is coming off his worst season since he was a rookie, and he will turn 33 on December 14th
In what is more of an indictment of the Orioles than praise of Ward, he did as the third-most valuable Oriole with a 2.7 bWAR. His many walks helped with that, as he slugged a paltry .346. FanGraphs was not as generous; his fWAR was just 1.8.
And what of Grayson Rodriguez? He did pitch this year. He made 20 starts with a 6.02 ERA and missed some time due to injury. His best start of the season came against the Orioles, of course. In August, he pitched seven innings and allowed two runs on three hits. There aren’t really any winners in this trade, though Rodriguez does have three more years to prove his worth to his new team.
