Because it’s never too early to wonder about lineup construction, even before Thanksgiving, there’s an instant curiosity over the most ideal spot to bat Taylor Ward.

Ward has hit everywhere during his eight-year career, and before the Orioles acquired him from the Angels this week for starter Grayson Rodriguez in a shocking one-for-one deal.

The breakdown goes as follows:

First: 169 starts
Second: 19
Third: 139
Fourth: 179
Fifth: 37
Sixth: 36
Seventh: 49
Eighth: 32
Ninth: five

Ward hit a career-high 36 home runs this year and 18 of them came from the cleanup spot, where he made 99 starts. He batted third in 30 games and hit nine homers and swatted six among his 22 starts at leadoff. Ward batted fifth in three games (two homers) and second twice (one homer).

The Orioles used 10 leadoff hitters this year, led by Jackson Holliday with 113 starts. Cedric Mullins (18), Gunnar Henderson (13), Jordan Westburg (seven), Colton Cowser (five), Dylan Beavers (two), Jeremiah Jackson (one), Ryan Mountcastle (one), Adley Rutschman (one) and Ramón Laureano (one) were the others.

The group combined to bat .222, lowest in the majors. The .296 on-base percentage tied the Angels for worst, and the .649 OPS was 28^th.

Ward posted a .228 average and .317 OBP this year. He drove in 103 runs. So no, he shouldn’t bat first on an everyday basis, though he has more career plate appearances there (763) than at cleanup (758). Perhaps against some lefties. 

Holliday has slashed .229/.300/.360 in 209 major league games. He’s far from a finished product and he might make sense down the road as a leadoff hitter, but the Orioles could explore other options with a new manager and mostly revamped coaching staff.

The roster isn’t close to completion, so this is a subject to be revisited many times before the team breaks camp. But for now and moving forward, Ward profiles as a middle-of-the-order bat after Ryan O’Hearn led the club with 48 starts at cleanup, followed by Mountcastle with 39, Rutschman with 21, Tyler O’Neill with 17 and Laureano with 11.

Spoiler alert warning: President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias called Ward “a middle-of-the-order bat” yesterday in his video call with the local media.

* In an interview this week with The Athletic, Ward talked about how much he cherished his time with the Angels but also looked forward to the next chapter, which could be a short one with free agency looming.

“As much as I wanted to stay with the guys in the clubhouse,” Ward said, “I think this is good for me.”

Ward already is doing his research on Camden Yards, according to the article, scrolling through his Baseball Savant page and discovering a calculation that had him hitting 33 home runs this year if he played 162 games for Baltimore.

“My goal is to win a World Series, and I think we have the group,” Ward said. “They also have money to spend, and they’re gonna get key guys to fill holes. They’re gonna do the right thing. I fully expect us to be contending. Once we make the playoffs, I’m gonna be super excited.”

* Within my Thursday morning article was this observation:

The Orioles could be done with the outfield after trading for a player expected to make $13-$14 million in 2026 in his final year of arbitration. They won’t go after the biggest fish in the free agent pool, ending speculation about Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger or Kyle Schwarber.

Hours later, The Athletics’ Ken Rosenthal kept the speculation alive by writing that “club officials are not ruling out a pursuit of right fielder Kyle Tucker, the top hitter on the free-agent market.”

Rosenthal doesn’t cite sources.

Tucker is projected to receive an 11-year deal in the $400-$420 million range. Chris Davis holds the club record at $161 million over seven years, but it dates back to Peter Angelos’ ownership.

Never say never, right? Guess I’ll just need convincing that the Orioles would make such a huge investment. Like, for example, a press conference to introduce Tucker.

Elias confirmed that the Orioles are still looking at center field options and that they could bring in another impact bat.

“You know, we very well might. And that’s something that we’re working on,” he said.

“I can’t guarantee that that’s going to happen, but we are definitely still pursuing upgrades to the lineup.”

* Ward won the inaugural Angels Good Guy Award for 2025, as chosen by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

I texted an Angels scout about Ward and he replied, “Great guy. You’ll love him.”

Former Orioles starter Dylan Bundy got to know Ward after being traded to the Angels in December 2019 and spending two seasons with them.

“Great teammate. Doesn’t talk much,” Bundy wrote in a text.

Told that Ward received the Good Guy Award, Bundy replied, “Makes sense. Very respectful and quiet.”

“Now that he has had success,” Bundy quipped, “I’m sure he talks a little more now.”

Orioles media has talked about the possibility of creating its own Good Guy Award. Should it happen, Ward already has a head start on the rest of the field.

We got a different version of Rodriguez this year than what we had grown accustomed to, much more distant after his exhibition start in Fort Myers, much less willing to sit at his locker or consent to interviews. “Not today, sorry,” became his stock answer, except for his appearances on “Foul Territory.” He made another one yesterday. But no hard feelings.

The frustration over his repeated physical breakdowns had to wear on him, as well as the team. He’s a good guy. But no longer eligible in Baltimore for Good Guy.

Rodriguez in yesterday’s interview that he was surprised by the news because he didn’t think the Orioles would trade him. “But obviously, the Angels wanted me bad enough, and it's kind of a cool feeling."