OF Ward traded to Mariners, RHP Wells dealt to Rays on busy Deadline day for O's

BALTIMORE -- This past Friday, Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias sat in the first-base dugout at Camden Yards and told the assembled media that his club would be neither buyers nor sellers ahead of Monday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline. He was targeting strong "baseball moves" and good "exchanges of talent."

Then, Monday brought solely seller-like transactions by Baltimore. The blockbuster move of the day was the Adley Rutschman trade -- a deal that sent the star catcher and fellow backstop Jake Rogers to the Red Sox in exchange for a trio of top prospects and catcher Carlos Narváez. Then, the O's stayed busy with similar types of trades throughout the day.

Outfielder Taylor Ward was sent to the Mariners in exchange for three right-handed pitchers, while right-handed reliever Tyler Wells was dealt to the Rays for right-handed pitching prospect Michael Forret (TB's No. 8 prospect; now BAL's No. 6). These trades occurred three days after right-hander Dean Kremer was moved to the Twins.

So, what changed? Why did the Orioles -- 54-58, yet still only 2 1/2 games back of the third American League Wild Card spot entering Monday -- lean so heavily in the selling direction?

"Sometimes, in my position, I have to hold my cards close to my vest. I can’t come out and declare my intentions, because my competitors hear them, too," Elias said. "We did go into the Deadline with a buy/sell mindset. We had a lot of conversations. As I said in my most recent media availability, we were ultimately looking for baseball trades and exchanges of talent that we wanted to do, that we thought would help the overall talent level of the organization and do right by the organization.

"I think we made a lot of really successful talent exchanges today, even though this was not the situation that we wanted to be in at the beginning of the year."

For more about the Rutschman trade, read here. Here's a breakdown of the other two big deals made by the O's on Monday:

TRADE DETAILS
Orioles receive: RHP Alex Hoppe, RHP Harrison Kreiling and RHP Brock Moore
Mariners receive: OF Taylor Ward

Hoppe is the most experienced pitcher among the three acquired by the O’s. The 27-year-old right-hander had a 5.79 ERA in 24 relief appearances for Seattle this season. A sixth-round pick of the Red Sox in 2022, Hoppe was traded to the Mariners last November after not getting above Triple-A in Boston’s system.

Moore, 26, was Seattle’s seventh-round pick in 2024. He had a 1.13 ERA in 13 relief outings for High-A Everett this year, but he struggled upon getting promoted to Double-A Arkansas, posting a 5.56 ERA over 18 appearances.

Kreiling, 24, was selected by the Mariners in the 17th round of the 2024 Draft. He didn’t make his professional debut until this year, as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. The righty had a 2.08 ERA in three starts in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League, then tossed two scoreless innings in his debut for Single-A Inland Empire last Tuesday.

With Ward set to hit free agency after the season, the Orioles opted to move him rather than try to keep him long term. They acquired the 32-year-old in a trade with the Angels for right-hander Grayson Rodriguez last Nov. 19.

Ward hit .246 with 20 doubles, seven home runs, 30 RBIs, a career-high 87 walks and a .729 OPS over 111 games for Baltimore.

TRADE DETAILS
Orioles receive: RHP Michael Forret (Tampa Bay’s No. 8 prospect; now Baltimore's No. 6)
Rays receive: RHP Tyler Wells

Wells had been a stalwart on Baltimore’s pitching staff since getting selected by the club during the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, taken from Minnesota’s farm system. The 31-year-old right-hander had a 3.79 ERA in 142 games (50 starts) over six MLB seasons.

Though Wells has experience as both a starter and reliever, he has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen this year, recording a 2.67 ERA over 43 outings.

Forret was the Orioles’ 14th-round Draft pick in 2023, before he got traded to the Rays as part of the return for right-hander Shane Baz this past Dec. 19. The 22-year-old reached Triple-A for the first time this year, recording a 4.89 ERA over nine starts for Durham.

"I think he’s very close to Major League ready, like a phone call away," Elias said. "We like where he’s at. We drafted him and developed him, we traded him to Tampa, and now, he’s back. So, baseball’s got some weird ins and outs like that, but really like where he’s at in his career. And I think to get a young starting pitcher with his pitch mix, with his command -- who's got the ability to throw innings and be in a rotation -- I think it’s a good trade for a reliever [Wells] who’s having a good season and has got a year left on his deal."