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General manager Perry Minasian acknowledged it was a difficult trade to make .

Taylor Ward has meant a lot to the organization since being drafted as a catcher with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2015 Draft, making multiple position changes -- including playing third base -- before finally settling into left field and developing into an above-average hitter over the last five seasons.

But ultimately, contracts matter, and the ability to acquire a tantalizing potential ace in Grayson Rodriguez was too much to pass up. Ward is set to earn roughly $13 million to 14 million in his last year of arbitration before free agen

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