Mariners Acquire Drew Smyly From Rays For Prospects
The Seattle Mariners announced Wednesday that they have acquired left-handed pitcher Drew Smyly from the Tampa Bay Rays.
In exchange for Smyly, the Rays received outfielder Mallex Smith (whom the Mariners acquired earlier in the day), infielder Carlos Vargas and left-handed pitcher Ryan Yarbrough.
Smyly will fill out the 2017 Mariners' rotation, a group that will look quite different after an offseason full of moves from general manager Jerry Dipoto and company.
Mariners, Orioles Swap Yovani Gallardo, Seth Smith
The Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles announced a trade on Friday.
Seattle acquired right-handed starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo from Baltimore in exchange for outfielder Seth Smith. To help pay Gallardo's contract, it is expected that Seattle will recieve about $2 million in the deal.
The trade fills theoretical needs for both sides. The Mariners have been looking for a back-of-the-rotation starter with some upside like Gallardo, while the Orioles have searched for a corner hitting outfielder with some power, and Smith certainly fits the bill.
D-Backs Acquire Taijuan Walker, Mariners Acquire Jean Segura In Five-Player Trade
The Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners have completed a five-player trade on Wednesday, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported and the team announced.
In the deal, the Diamondbacks acquired starting pitcher Taijuan Walker and young shortstop Ketel Marte from Seattle.
The Mariners, on the other side, acquired shortstop Jean Segura, outfield prospect Mitch Haniger and left-handed reliever Zac Curtis from Arizona.
There's obviously a lot to unpack in this blockbuster, which was the first of Mike Hazen's career as Diamondbacks general manager.
Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Piazza elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame
The Baseball Writers Association of America announced the election of two candidates to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday.
Outfielder Ken Griffey Jr.and catcher Mike Piazza will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame this summer in Cooperstown, New York, cementing themselves alongside baseball's greatest players of all time.
Griffey was almost a unanimous selection, getting 99.3 percent (437 of 440) of the vote. He breaks the record for the highest percentage of the vote, previously held by Mets' starter Tom Seaver, who got 98.8 percent of the vote in 1992.
Griffey, known as "The Kid," will become baseball's first No. 1 overall pick to make it to the Hall of Fame. Selected by the Mariners in the 1987 MLB Draft, Griffey made his Major League debut at 19 and quickly became one of the greatest sluggers of his time.
He hit 40 home runs in just 493 plate appearances in 1994, winning his first of four home run titles. Just three years later, at the age of 27, Griffey hit .304/.382/.646 with 56 home runs and 147 RBIs in 704 plate appearances, unanimously taking home the American League MVP.
Griffey followed up his 56 homer campaign with another one in 1998. He slugged a cool 112 home runs and drove in 293 RBIs in 318 games from 1997 to 1998. He was worth a staggering 15.6 fWAR in those two years combined.
Griffey was named to 11 consecutive All-Star Games and 13 total. Spending most of his career with the Mariners, Griffey retired with a career .284/.370/.538 slash line and 630 home runs, good for sixth on the all-time list.
While Griffey was the trailblazer in one regard, Piazza is in almost the complete opposite, becoming the latest player drafted to enter the Hall of Fame. Piazza was selected in the 62nd round of the 1988 draft as a favor by Tommy Lasorda, a friend of his dad's. That round no longer exists.
All Piazza did was hit. Even with such a low draft selection, Piazza eventually turned heads inside the Dodgers' organization with his explosive bat and made his Major League debut at 23.
Piazza went on to become the face of the Dodgers, breaking out in his first full season in 1993. He hit for a .318/.370/.561 slash line with 35 home runs and 112 RBIs in 602 plate appearances.
He continued his excellence at the plate, hitting 30 or more home runs every year from 1993 to 2002, excluding the strike-shortened 1994 season (he still hit 24 in just 112 games).
Piazza ended up being traded to the Mets in 1998. He then spent the majority of his career with New York. Overall, Piazza finished with a .308/.377/.545 slash line with 427 home runs (the most by a catcher ever) and 1,335 RBIs in 16 big league seasons. He received 83 percent of the ballot in his fourth try.
Congratulations to both Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza on being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Full voting results are here.
Mariners re-sign Hisashi Iwakuma to one-year deal
The Seattle Mariners announced the re-signing of right-handed starter Hisashi Iwakuma to a one-year deal with vesting options for 2017 and 2018.
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, if Iwakuma's two options vest, he can earn nearly $45 million over the three years. His deal includes a full no-trade clause.
Iwakuma was thought to be heading to the Dodgers on a three-year, $45 million deal back at the Winter Meetings, but apparently his deal fell through. One report suggested that this was due to failed medicals.
Regardless, Iwakuma's deal with Los Angeles never finalized. The Mariners swooped back in and got a deal done. Iwakuma's market definitely took a big swing, as he lost two guaranteed contract years if in fact he had a three-year deal with Los Angeles.
Now in order to have guaranteed seasons in 2017 and 2018, Iwakuma must reach certain baselines. If he does, he will end up making around the same amount of money he would have made had he signed with Los Angeles. The only difference, however, is that only the 2016 season is fully guaranteed.
Iwakuma will slide back into his No. 2 role in the Mariners' rotation, behind ace Felix Hernandez. The team has been busy this offseason trying to revamp their roster to make the postseason, adding Wade Miley, Steve Cishek, Joaquin Benoit, Nori Aoki, Adam Lind, Seth Smith, and Loenys Martin in a variety of transactions.
Last season, Iwakuma went 9-5 with a 3.54 ERA in 192 2/3 innings pitched. He posted a 111 to 21 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 3.74 FIP, and 3.27 xFIP. According to FanGraphs, he was worth 1.8 fWAR.
The 34-year-old has spent his entire Major League career with the Mariners. He began pitching in Major League Baseball in 2012, after he was signed out of Japan. Iwakuma, who was named to the AL All-Star team in 2013, has a career 3.17 ERA and 4.34 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 653 2/3 career innings.