Mariners acquire Ward from Orioles; Guardians option Manzardo to Triple-A

From staff and wire reports

The Seattle Mariners acquired outfielder Taylor Ward from the Baltimore Orioles on Monday in exchange for minor league right-handers Alex Hoppe, Brock Moore and Harrison Kreiling. Ward, 32, is hitting .246 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs in 111 games.

The Cleveland Guardians made several moves, including acquiring outfielder Jo Adell from the Anaheim Angels and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe from the Cincinati Reds.

After acquiring Lowe, Cleveland optioned first baseman Kyle Manzardo, the former Lake City High and Washington State star, to Triple-A Columbus.

The lefty hitting Lowe, 31, is batting .266 with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs. Rhys Hoskins, a righty, and the lefty hitting Manzardo, 26, have split time at first base in Cleveland, but Hoskins is batting .179 and Manzardo .215. Manzardo (13 homers, 39 RBIs) and David Fry were optioned to Columbus to make room on the 26-man roster for Adell and Lowe.

“Really hard decision. We continue to believe that Manzo is going to be a really productive major league hitter,” Cleveland general manager Chris Antonetti said in an interview posted on X by Mason Horodyski of WEWS TV in Cleveland. “He’s demonstrated the ability to impact games and help carry the team, but this year just hasn’t been consistent as he’s been in the past ... we still believe Manzo’s not only a big part of our future, but will still impact us at some point this year.”

Manzardo was in his second full season with the Guardians, after a pair of short stints in Cleveland in 2024.

Manzardo, a second-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021, was traded to Cleveland in 2023.

With the Guardians, Manzardo has 1,043 plate appearances (927 at-bats), a .228 batting average with 45 homers and 124 RBIs.