Mariners' Taylor Ward trade flop has ironically helped fix the Orioles' bullpen

Now that a month has passed since the trade deadline, it's safe to say that the results haven't been quite what the Mariners were hoping for. Seranthony Domínguez has posted a 5.84 ERA and 6.57 FIP over 12.1 innings in Seattle and Taylor Ward's 13 OPS+ since joining the team has made him one of the worst hitters in baseball over that span.

On the other side of the Domínguez trade, the White Sox have gotten similarly poor results out of their end of the bargain, Luis Castillo, who has looked even shakier than he did with the Mariners. While that trade seems like a loss for both parties, the Taylor Ward trade has at least been somewhat of a success for the Orioles.

Reliever Alex Hoppe has thrived in his new role in Baltimore's bullpen

As a Mariner, Hoppe was a much better pitcher than his numbers may have suggested. Although his ERA stood at 5.79 over 28 innings, his FIP of 2.87 suggested that he was falling victim to poor batted ball luck. For the most part, he kept the ball in the yard and struck out three times as many batters as he walked, great qualities for a reliever.

Hoppe was the only big-leaguer to be sent to Baltimore and since joining the Orioles, it seems that his fortune has finally turned around. He has pitched nine scoreless innings and recently picked up the first save of his career against the Athletics. He has already accumulated 0.6 rWAR as an Oriole, which is somehow more than Jose A. Ferrer has accumulated all season (0.5).

Hoppe's approach to pitching seems to have changed along with his uniform. He struck out more hitters while with Seattle (27.6%) but also gave up more hard contact, primarily in the form of line drives. His average exit velocity of 89.8 mph was in the bottom quartile of pitchers and was a big reason he conceded the earns runs he did as as Mariner.

Now, he's striking out just 17.1% of hitters but seems to be more intent on throwing strikes in the zone, saying as much in his first week with his new squad. His whiff and chase rates have plummeted but he throws more pitches in the zone than 96% of his peers. This has made him one of the best at minimizing hard contact, bringing his average exit velocity down to just 82.4 mph since August 5th. His ground ball rate is up to 53.8% and he is yet to give up a barrel as an Oriole.

The Mariners just can't seem to catch a break this year. Even with the return of Cooper Criswell, the bullpen seems understaffed and unable to compensate for a lineup that ranks 29th in OPS (.685). The team took their chances on Taylor Ward and it ended up being a gamble that didn't pay off. It did, however, pay off for Baltimore and Alex Hoppe is looking like he'll be an important part of their relief unit for at least the next few years.

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