The Orioles need pitching at all levels and acquired three from Seattle in their return for Taylor Ward. Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images
Aug. 3, 2026 2:42 pm EDT Updated
The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline.
Trade details: The Seattle Mariners acquire OF/1B Taylor Ward from the Baltimore Orioles for RHPs Alex Hoppe, Brock Moore and Harrison Kreiling
The Orioles’ trade for Taylor Ward this winter seemed like a great move to shore up their offense, but Ward left his power on the west coast and instead became a walk machine who hasn’t done much else, contributing to Baltimore’s disappointing 2026 season. They’ve now flipped him to Seattle for three pitchers, addressing an organizational need while the Mariners get an immediate OBP boost to a lineup that can barely find its way to first base.
Seattle’s .310 team OBP ranks second-to-last in the American League, only ahead of the Blue Jays, thanks to the massive drop-off in Cal Raleigh’s production (down 97 points in OBP) and their offensive voids at third base and right field. Ward can fill the latter spot, with his .383 OBP replacing the .287 OBP the Mariners’ previous right fielders have scratched out on the season. That alone is another 18-20 baserunners for the rest of the season, even if we don’t consider the possibility that Ward could remember how he hit 36 homers last year.
It’s easy to upgrade when your incumbents are horrible. I’ll also note that the Mariners are buying when they have almost the same record as the Tigers, who appear to be selling after trading Tarik Skubal on Saturday night.
In return, Baltimore gets three arms, including big-league reliever Alex Hoppe, a right-handed specialist who sits in the upper 90s with a plus slider but has allowed a .362 OBP to lefties because he has nothing to get them out.
Harrison Kreiling was the Mariners’ 17th-round pick in 2024 but only debuted this year after missing a year-plus to Tommy John surgery. He’s come back with a tick more velocity in short bursts after sitting more 92-94 in college, with a slider that looks like it could end up a plus pitch. It’s a good delivery and so far he’s walked just one of 38 batters faced, although in the larger sample pre-injury he never posted a walk rate below 10 percent.
Brock Moore is up to 99 mph with a 55 slider (on the 20-80 scouting scale) but he’s reliever all the way and he’s walking almost 17 percent of batters faced in Double A. He’s close enough to the majors to get a cup of coffee as is, but I think Kreiling is the better and more interesting prospect of the pair.
Aug 4, 2026
Connections: Sports Edition
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today’s puzzle
