BALTIMORE -- The trade rumors had circulated around Taylor Ward for years. The 31-year-old outfielder had known for a while that he could be dealt at any time.

That didn’t make the phone call from Angels general manager Perry Minasian around 8 p.m. PT last Tuesday any less surprising to Ward, who was informed he had been traded to the Orioles in a 1-for-1 swap for right-hander Grayson Rodriguez .

“I had no idea,” Ward said in a Zoom call with the Baltimore media on Monday. “You could say it was definitely a blindside. I had no idea that the Orioles were interested in me, but definitely thankful, grateful for the opportunity and excited to get going with them.”

Ward may not have known about the O’s interest, but the club had been targeting the slugger for quite some time.

“There’s a

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