CHICAGO — The Yankees left Wrigley Field on Friday with a 2-0 victory that looked cleaner on the scoreboard than it felt in the batter’s box. Amed Rosario broke a scoreless tie with a solo home run in the fourth inning, and rookie Spencer Jones added another in the fifth. Those were two of only four New York hits.
The result moved the Yankees to 62-48, 2 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East and 6 1/2 games above the American League wild-card cut line, according to MLB’s official standings. It also reinforced an uncomfortable contrast. The Yankees’ pitching staff keeps giving the club room to win, while the lineup often asks that staff to protect almost nothing.
That imbalance has sharpened with Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list. Bellinger faces a four-to-six-week absence with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain. Judge had not resumed baseball activities in the latest official update, while Stanton remained in a running progression.
With the MLB trade deadline set for Monday at 6 p.m. ET, the Yankees must decide how much future value to surrender for immediate offense. The front office also must separate a true difference-maker from a temporary patch while rival bidders work against the same clock.
A right-handed bat enters the Yankees’ picture
That search has led the Yankees to Baltimore Orioles left fielder Taylor Ward, a pending free agent earning $12.175 million this season. New York is among four clubs showing interest in Ward, along with the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers and Cleveland Guardians.
Ward would not arrive as a conventional deadline slugger. The 32-year-old entered Saturday batting .247 with a .384 on-base percentage and a .348 slugging percentage in 109 games. He had seven home runs, 30 RBIs, 64 runs and 86 walks in 500 plate appearances.
The home run total creates the revival bet. Ward hit a career-high 36 homers and drove in 103 runs for the Los Angeles Angels in 2025. He slugged .475 and produced a 117 wRC+, which measures offense relative to league average.
His 2026 wRC+ also stood at 117 through Friday. Ward has offset much of his lost power with patience. His walk rate has jumped from 11.3% last season to 17.2% this year.
Ward homered once every 18.4 plate appearances last season. This year, he has gone deep once every 71.4. The Yankees would acquire an above-average hitter, but they would also wager that some of his old slugging profile can return.
Statcast offers limited support. Ward’s expected slugging percentage was .379, 31 points above his actual mark. However, his average exit velocity dipped from 90.1 mph to 89.4 mph, and his barrel rate fell from 13.7% to 5.6%. A full revival would require better contact.
Baltimore holds the deadline leverage
The Orioles’ position complicates the Yankees’ pursuit. Baltimore improved to 54-56 with a 6-4 comeback win over Philadelphia on Friday and moved within 1 1/2 games of an AL wild-card spot. The Orioles are neither a clear buyer nor a clear seller.
Baltimore president of baseball operations Mike Elias addressed that uncertainty as calls increased around his roster. His answer explained why Ward remains available without making a trade inevitable.
“We put ourselves in a position where we’re not declaring ourselves to be in one bucket or another in terms of buying or selling,” Elias said.
The Orioles have followed that mixed approach. They traded starter Dean Kremer to Minnesota, but they also extended reliever Yennier Cano and remained close enough to the postseason race to keep Ward.
The Orioles’ official transaction release shows Baltimore acquired Ward from the Angels in November for right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, a former top prospect. Moving Ward less than nine months later for a modest rental return would invite scrutiny. Competition may lift the price because Ward is among the strongest everyday right-handed outfielders available.
A rental that fits an immediate Yankees problem
The Yankees would owe roughly $3.6 million of Ward’s salary after the deadline before he reaches free agency. The larger cost would be the prospect return and the difficulty of trading inside the AL East.
Ward would give Aaron Boone a right-handed corner outfielder who works deep counts. He could play left field while Bellinger recovers, rotate through designated hitter and balance the lineup against left-handed pitching. His arrival would reduce the pressure on Jones and Jasson Domínguez.
The fit is not complete. Ward does not solve center field, and Yankee Stadium’s short right-field porch offers no special advantage to a right-handed pull hitter. The Yankees would need his contact quality to improve rather than count on the ballpark to restore his power.
A report by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark placed the Yankees directly inside the competition for the outfielder.
“And on a lesser scale, the teams pursuing right-handed hitting outfielders are waiting to see what the Baltimore Orioles do with left fielder Taylor Ward,” according to Rosenthal and Stark. “The clubs in that market, to varying degrees, include the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers and Cleveland Guardians, according to people briefed on the discussions.”
The Yankees entered Saturday with a strong playoff position, a damaged middle of the order and two days left before the deadline. Ward remained with Baltimore, and the Orioles remained close enough to the wild-card race to demand a meaningful return or keep him. No deal had been completed as of Aug. 1.
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