Taylor Ward officially traded to Mariners

Robles was a key contributor to the Mariners comeback before closer Andrés Muñoz imploded in the 10th inning. First, his sixth inning single cut the Astros’ lead to two runs. Then, his bunt single moved Cal Raleigh to second base before he scored the tying run on a ground rule double by Alan Roden in the eighth. Then, his RBI triple in the 10th pushed across the go-ahead run and his speed put him in position to score the all important insurance run on a sac fly just after. Those were each key hits in his final three at-bats to give the Mariners all the help they should’ve needed in an incredibly important series opener versus the division-leading Astros as they desperately try to keep their playoff hopes alive.

It’s the second consecutive game that the 32-year-old outfielder has missed due to tightness in his quad, though he is expected to be available off of the bench. Expect him to return to the lineup before the weekend is through.

He’s reportedly available to play off the bench, but he won’t start against LHP Max Fried. With Cal Raleigh taking over at DH, Jhonny Pereda will get the start in Ward’s absence.

The Orioles will receive Alex Hoppe, Brock Moore and Harrison Kreiling in return, according to the Baltimore Sun’s Matt Weyrich. Ward’s offensive profile has radically changed this year, but he’s remained quite valuable in the process. The Mariners will likely play him in right and bat him somewhere near the top of the order. The ballpark change could bring down his fantasy value a bit.

Mayo gets the nod to face Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez with Taylor Ward hitting second. It’s a bit of a different look for Baltimore, but one of their former top prospects has earned the opportunity by hitting .267 (8-for-30) with two homers in 11 games since last month’s All-Star break.

The Orioles are unclear about whether they truly want to trade away players at the deadline because, despite being three games under .500, they are just 2.5 games out of a playoff spot. The expiring contracts include Taylor Ward, Trevor Rogers and Andrew Kittredge, but the Orioles are also listening to offers for Adley Rutschman, who is under team control for one more season. While it remains unclear what the Orioles will do, Rosenthal believes that “Ward and Rogers, even as rentals, could fetch sizable returns,” so they remain the two most likely to be moved. If anybody moves at all.

It appears that Seattle is proceeding with an abundance of caution after Rodríguez came down hard on the first-base bag immediately after taking an 85.9 mph throw from Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz off his left leg during Monday’s series opener. Mariners skipper Dan Wilson downplayed concern after the contest and is sounds like Rodríguez is day-to-day heading into Wednesday’s series finale. It’ll be Victor Robles sliding over to patrol center field in his absence.

Robles also threw out Edwin Arroyo at home after Arroyo made a surprising attempt to tag up on a 229-foot flyout from Sal Stewart in the second. Put it all together and it has to be Robles’s best game of the year to date. He was hitting just .210/.259/.240 with no homers and five RBI in 109 plate appearances.

Up until the eighth inning, the Orioles had only scratched one run across in this game and it came via three consecutive walks in the third inning. Their pitching kept them in the game and Ward turned this game on its head with a two-run shot that pushed them to victory. It was a key fifth straight win for them as they try to claw back into the playoff race and Ward finding some power could really help their chances. This was just his seventh home run of the season after hitting 36 last year as one of the league’s leaders. He’s held up his value somewhat with a sky-high .388 on-base percentage that’s mostly been fueled by his ultra-passive approach, but fantasy managers and the Orioles alike would love to see more of that power return.

Ward’s home run was just his sixth of the season. He hit a solo shot off Noah Cameron in the sixth inning. After hitting 61 home runs over the two previous seasons, Ward has had a power outage. Saturday’s home run was his first since June 22, breaking a streak of 15 games without a home run. Ward’s .104 ISO is still on pace to be a career-low.