The Orioles traded outfielder Taylor Ward for Right-handed reliever Alex Hoppe and minor league pitchers Brook Moore and Harrison Kreiling.
Hoppe is a 27-year old who made his major league debut this season and has put up a 5.79 ERA over 28 innings this season with the Mariners.
Under the hood though, even though he doesn’t qualify, his expected stats and statcast data point to some upside. With a 2.88 FIP and 3.63 xERA, Hoppe has been better than the 5.79 ERa suggests.
He’s a slider, fastball guy who can touch triple-digits.
Overall, he looks like decent 6th inning guy who can miss bats.
Neither Moore or Kreiling are in the top 30 according to MLBPipeline. The 26-year old Moore though is 6-foot-6 and has missed bats in his career, but has struggled in his first taste of AA this season. Kreiling is a 2024 17th round draft pick who didn’t pitch until this season so he’s probably a TJ guy. He’s barely pitched but the Orioles must’ve seen something to take a flier on him.
