Yankees division rival might've just massively overpaid in trade for Angels slugger

The New York Yankees' decision to extend Trent Grisham the qualifying offer seemingly backfired on Tuesday when he shockingly accepted the bloated one-year pact. While that's a baffling development on multiple fronts, hours later, a division rival outdid them with their own head-scratching outfield move.

The Baltimore Orioles swung a late-night trade, swapping up-and-coming young starter Grayson Rodriguez for outfielder Taylor Ward, formerly of the Los Angeles Angels. In the deal, Baltimore is getting a 36-homer bat. On the surface, landing a slugger of Ward's caliber should be a win, but looking closely, the deal raises more questions than it answers.

Orioles complete baffling Taylor Ward trade as the Yankees laugh at their overpay

Ward is a fine player, for sure. His 36 dingers in 2025 were a career high, but they came at the cost of a career low .228 batting average. In reality, the soon-to-be 32-year-old is something of a jack of all trades, master of none, who can bring forth roughly 25 homers and a .250 batting average while walking a bit more than league average and playing average-ish corner outfield defense. All of that has value.

Yet, Ward is in his walk year. Projected to make $13.7 million in his final year of arbitration, he's not overpaid, but also not exactly a bargain. Again, he's a final complementary piece to add to your lineup if you need it.

The Orioles don't need it, though. Their outfield already features promising youngsters like Dylan Beavers and Colton Cowser, both of whom are 25 or under. They already have money tied up in Tyler O'Neill, who is coming off a disappointing 2025, but when he's right, he's a very similar player to Ward. This also likely blocks speedy top prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr. from making his debut.

More importantly is what this move costs them. Grayson Rodriguez missed all of 2025 with an elbow injury, but the 26-year-old is an ascending young starter with front-line potential. He might not be a future ace, but he could be a solid No. 2 and is under team control through 2029.

That seems like an odd thing to give away in exchange for an outfield rental that you don't really need, but maybe if the Orioles' rotation was brimming with talent you could make a case as to why dealing from a surplus wasn't a bad call. Oh wait ...

Baltimore's rotation was a dumpster fire this year, as their attempt to piece together a unit comprised of over-the-hill veterans and back-of-the-rotation types blew up, posting a 4.65 ERA that ranked 24th in the bigs.

And there lies the truly hilarious part for the Yankees. The Orioles entered the offseason needing an ace to pair with Grayson Rodriguez, and instead immediately made the most pressing hole bigger in order to acquire a player who doesn't solve an immediate need and likely walks after next season. It doesn't get much worse than that.