Rob's Baseball Blog

Another official Mariners trade - Seattle is sending Jean Segura, Juan Nicasio, and James Pazos, and one million dollars (to cover Segura's trade bonus) to the Phillies in exchange for J.P. Crawford and Carlos Santana. Though the trade has been rumored for the past 24-48 hours or so, people were eagerly awaiting to hear the official details. Well, the details are out, and both Mariners fans and baseball officials are confused and upset. For Philadelphia, the trade seems like a steal. They are receiving an all star shortstop in his prime, and signed to nice team-friendly contract. He can be a fixture in the Phillies' infield and lineup for years to come, while still allowing them ample room to sign free agents. Nicasio had a rough year marred by injuries, but may be able to bounce back in 2019, and in any case, he only has one year remaining on his contract. Pazos is a nice young, hard throwing lefty reliever who can get both lefties and righties out. Though he had a rough...

The Mariners and the Mets have officially announced their blockbuster trade, with the Mariners sending Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to the Mets in exchange for Jarred Kelenic, Justin Dunn, Gerson Bautista, Jay Bruce, and Anthony Swarzak. While many are portraying this trade as "the Mariners were so desperate to get rid of Cano's huge contract that they were willing to include Edwin Diaz," I'm not sure that's really the best way to look at it. The way I see it is more of two separate trades combined into one: 1) Robinson Cano and $20 million for Jay Bruce and Anthony Swarzak 2) Edwin Diaz for Jarred Kelenic, Justin Dunn, and Gerson Bautista With the Mariners in rebuilding mode until 2021 (probably), having Cano around didn't make much sense. While both Bruce and Swarzak had down years in 2018, neither's contract is particularly long that it would cripple the Mariners' planned rebuilding plans. The $20 million is included to help off-set some of...

In light of the Mariners recent fire sale, with the trade of Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to the Mets nearing finalization, and the Mariners also strongly rumored to be in the midst of trading Jean Segura to the Phillies, Brewers fans have suggested the possibility of a trade for Kyle Seager: https://reviewingthebrew.com/2018/12/02/milwaukee-brewers-seager-trade-target/ I like this possibility. The Mariners are not a small market organization and can easily eat money from Seager's contract, especially since they are not expected to contend for the next few years. Eating money in exchange for prospects is a good idea for the Mariners right now, since prospects is what they need right now. Still, we can't expect any top prospects in exchange for Seager, but we can still expect the Mariners to get a decent return for him if they are indeed willing to eat a portion of Seager's contract. On a sentimental level, Seager is a home-grown talent from the Seattle organi...

The Mariners made a trade today sending all-star reliever Alex Colome to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for catcher Omar Narváez. My initial reaction is that this is a fair trade. Colome is a good reliever with two years of control left, while Narváez is a young catcher who is team controllable until 2023(!). Narváez is better known for his hitting than his defense; although his defense is decent, he's no Mike Zunino. Offensively he doesn't have as much power as Zunino, but is an overall better hitter with a higher average and on-base percentage. Last year Narváez put up a .275 / .366 / .429 slash line, with an OPS+ of 120. Offensively, that's quite an improvement over Zunino. Narváez's weakness, though, seems to be in pitch framing. Perhaps Dan Wilson can work with him and Narváez can improve in this area. With the Mariners in rebuilding mode for the next several years, Narváez has ample time and opportunity to work on framing as well as his defe...

Dan O'Dowd, a former MLB general manager and current analyst for MLB Network, proposed a trade between the Mets and Mariners: The trade is being heralded by Mets fans, while being scorned by Mariners fans, including myself.  While the trade was concocted entirely by unreliable sources and has no actual potential of happening in a manner similar to what O'Dowd has proposed, it is still garnering a lot of attention, since baseball fans love trade talk.  Mets fans are wishing and hoping the trade comes true, while Mariners fans know that, in spite of however inept of an organization the Mariners might be, they would still never do something as stupid as this trade. Mets fans seem to think that the Mariners are desperate to dump Cano's salary, which is not the case. Cano still delivers All Star quality production, and in spite of his large salary, is a productive player. What the Mariners are really interested in is, since they are now starting a re...

A good article by Baseball America about the top 10 Mariners prospects that Jerry Dipoto has traded away. Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects the Mariners traded away under Jerry Dipoto

Rumor has it that the Seattle Mariners and the San Diego Padres are talking about a potential trade that would involve Seattle sending RHP Mike Leake and shortstop Jean Segura to the Padres, with Wil Myers among the players heading to the Mariners. No word yet on who else might accompany Myers to Seattle.  This is an interesting trade for the Mariners in rebuilding mode. Leake is essentially being swapped for Myers, both of whom have long, expensive contracts. But Myers is quite a bit younger than Leake, and will still be in his prime when the Mariners finish rebuilding a couple of years from now. While Leake is a solid mid-to-back of the rotation innings eater, with the M's in rebuilding mode, his role doesn't quite fit with the team anymore. He would be much more useful with an organization that hopes to contend for a playoff spot more immediately. Myers is a versatile player who has spent ample time at all three outfield positions, first base, and third ba...

Bye-bye Paxton Earlier today the Seattle Mariners traded James Paxton to the New York Yankees in exchange for Justus Sheffield, Erik Swanson, and Dom Thompson-Williams.  The trade looks great for the Yankees. It gets them a first-rate starting pitcher in his prime with two years of arbitration remaining. Though Paxton has battled injuries throughout his career, he has so far avoided anything as serious as Tommy John, and as long as he can continue to stay clear of it for the next two years, he will likely be a huge asset for the Yankees. Paxton has a high ceiling and a high floor. At worst, he could be a 3 rd starter for New York. At best, he could be a Cy-Young candidate. Regardless, he will in all likelihood help the Yankees make a couple of runs into the postseason. The Yankees got a top-tier low-cost starting pitcher without having to dig into the free agent market, and without giving up any particularly valuable assets. For the Yankees, this was a very smart baseb...