Another day, another trade for Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto. The Mariners and Brewers have announced a trade sending first baseman Adam Lind to Seattle in exchange for minor league right-handers Carlos Herrera, Freddy Peralta and Daniel Missaki.
Following the trades of Mark Trumbo and Logan Morrison, the Mariners had a clear need for an upgrade at first base, and Lind should fill that void nicely. The 32-year-old is coming off a strong season with the Brewers in which he batted .277/.360/.460 with 20 home runs in 572 trips to the plate. Milwaukee made the easy call to exercise his $8MM club option this offseason, though the expectation has long been that the rebuilding Brewers would look to trade the final year of club control over Lind, who will be a free agent next winter.
That, of course, makes Lind a short-term upgrade for the Mariners, who will probably also look to add a platoon partner for him (although an in-house option like Jesus Montero could function well in that capacity). Lind batted just .221/.277/.298 against left-handed pitching in 2015 and was limited to 112 plate appearances against same-handed pitching, as his troubles in that regard are a known factor in his game. In parts of 10 seasons at the Major League level, Lind has batted just .213/.259/.327 against lefties. On the flip-side of that ugly split, however, is an impressive .293/.354/.509 batting line against right-handed pitching. Assuming a strict platoon deployment, Lind figures to give the Mariners a nice boost in on-base percentage at first base, and one can imagine a platoon of him and a righty with some notable pop — Mike Napoli, for instance, is a speculative fit with the Mariners — approximating or exceeding the power output that Trumbo would have delivered in a full-time capacity.
The acquisition gives new Mariners manager Scott Servais the option to run out a lineup that features Lind, Robinson Cano, Ketel Marte, Kyle Seager, Seth Smith, Leonys Martin and Nori Aoki against right-handed pitchers. Servais will have the option to deploy Montero (or a yet-unsigned platoon partner for Lind) and Franklin Gutierrez against left-handed pitching. The Mariners, of course, already have one of the game’s more potent right-handed bats in the form of Nelson Cruz.
The addition of Lind continues what has been one of the most active offseasons for any GM in recent memory, as Jerry Dipoto has wildly reshaped the Seattle roster in his first three months on the job. In addition to trading Trumbo and Morrison, Dipoto has also shipped out Brad Miller, Danny Farquhar, Tom Wilhelmsen, Carson Smith and multiple prospects in order to bring in Martin, Nate Karns, Wade Miley, Joaquin Benoit, Steve Clevenger, Anthony Bass, Luis Sardinas and Evan Scribner. Additionally, he’s re-signed Gutierrez and signed other free agents such as Aoki, Chris Iannetta and Justin De Fratus as he looks to reshape a roster that won a disappointing 76 games in 2015.
As for the Brewers, they’ll receive a trio of young arms that didn’t rank in the Mariners’ top 30 prospect on MLB.com’s end-of-season rankings, although each is exceptionally young and has a good bit of time to rise up the prospect ranks in Milwaukee.
Peralta, 19, did rank as Seattle’s No. 24 prospect in the eyes of Baseball America one winter ago. He spent his second season with the team’s Rookie-level affiliate in Arizona this season, and while he logged an uninspiring 4.11 ERA in 57 innings, he also posted an electric 67-to-8 K/BB ratio while spending most of his time (nine of 11 appearances) as a starting pitcher.
Seattle only signed Herrera, 18, in July of 2014. BA’s Ben Badler wrote at the time that Herrera’s fastball was topping out at 90 mph as a 16-year-old, but his projectable 6’3″, 170-pound frame gave reason to believe that more velocity would come as he filled out. He also noted that Herrera had a 72-74 mph curve ball in his arsenal. Herrera debuted in the Dominican Summer League this past season, pitching to a 3.26 ERA with 73 strikeouts against just 13 walks in 80 innings.
Missaki, 19, is a Brazilian-born right-hander who, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets, underwent Tommy John surgery back in May. Despite his young age, Missaki opened the season in the Class-A Midwest League and looked impressive in six starts, pitching to a 3.41 ERA with a 34-to-5 K/BB ratio in 34 1/3 innings against markedly older competition. He’ll presumably be ready to take the mound this summer and could see some more action at Class-A upon a return to health.
The three prospects acquired here demonstrate that new Brewers GM David Stearns is committed to restocking the farm and won’t be shy about moving Major League assets for players that are years away from contributing in the Majors. Each of the pitchers acquired has displayed impressive control for a young pitcher, which could be a point of emphasis in future trades as the Brewers look to return to prominence in an absolutely stacked National League Central Division.
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports initially reported that the Mariners were pursuing Lind and making progress in talks. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that the deal was in place (Twitter link). Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM said the Brewers would get three minor leaguers (links to Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted that all three were pitchers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rich Amaral and Jim Presley, that’s my guess.
The Brewers should’ve just kept him if that’s all they could get for him
Brewers are rebuilding and not contending in 2016, but you wanted them to get players that would be great NOW.. Don’t be insane.
I don’t think it’s the idea of trading for prospects that led to zkleczka’s comment… i think it’s the age of the prospect being brought back. Without knowing names, a prospect in rookie ball is typically a lot more volatile than a prospect in double a. It’s typically tough to predict or project guys that are this young.
I didnt want players that would be great now, but I wanted players that actually had a chance to make it to the majors. Three prospects that aren’t even on a top 30 list give very little hope they will ever make it to the majors.
They;re called “Lottery Tickets”. All you need is one to hit.
Thats what you get when you trade one year of a player that isn’t particularly cheap. If Lind made the ML minimum and had 3 years of club control, the Brewers would have gotten much more.
You sir, are just stupid. Not even worth arguing. Your team won the trade.
Oh, the irony. I’m not shocked that there’s another Wisconsin sports fan that doesn’t live in the real world or actually knows how the sport works.
What MarinersFan1977 said is 100% true. Sorry that it doesn’t fit your agenda on what is and isn’t acceptable. Stearns did fine for trading a 32 year old, oft injured 1B who can only hit RHP that has one year left on his deal.
And you sir, are just rude.. Mariners Fan is right on in his assessment. Even if only one pitcher makes it with the Brewers that’s six years of control vs. one year of basically a platoon player. Lind, like K-Rod, is a luxury the Brewers couldn’t afford.
This didn’t age well.
Shouldn’t we wait to draw conclusions until we know who was included?
Yeah but haha
Not as bad as I expected.
I hope Lind can do good in Seattle. He’s on my fantasy team.
What? You have Adam Lind as a keeper? What planet you on?
Lower level prospect could describe our farm system. As long as we didn’t give up Jackson or Petersen for a 1 year rental, this should pan out for the M’s.
Oh good. If we ended up giving up Zuni or Peterson I was prepared to go to opening day with a sign that says ” don’t trade me JD”.
I’m assuming DiPoto’s plan is to clean house in the farm system, get like 3 years of contention or so. Then do a rebuilding process. He’s been selling prospects like crazy, but it’s not like we have much to give away anymore
Is this true? The only legit prospects we’ve dealt are Enyel de Los Santos and Patrick Kivlehan. John Hicks and Ramon Flores also were moved, but aren’t exactly top prospects. Not sure why everyone thinks the Ms are mortgaging the future. They haven’t dealt any really good prospects.
Dipoto has dealt a lot of bullpen arms: Smith, Wilhelmsen, Farquar, etc. However, I’m not sure that is a bad plan. Despite the recent hysteria around baseball on pen arms, relievers are incredibly volatile commodities. It’s easier than most think to build a good pen on the cheap, and expensive relievers often have fluctuations in results year to year. As an Ms fan, that should be obvious: the same basic group went from excellent in ’14 to brutal in ’15.
Gor that price cards should have made an offer
That’s it? Obviously I’ll have to wait and see the names of who it was but I can’t see why the Pirates couldn’t have at least matched that. Unless they really didn’t want to trade him in the division
I’m not sure they would have cared. The one season he’s under contract they aren’t going to be competing with the rest of the NL Central anyway, and he’s a FA after this year.
If there were really as many teams interested as they say I can’t believe we couldn’t get at least a mid-level prospect or package him with a reliever (Smith, Jeffress, etc) to work a deal where they could get Peterson who they were targeting. Just hoping that Marlette is included at least. We need the catching depth and he strikes me as a guy who could eventually be Lucroy with a better arm.
Gareth Morgan or Austin Wilson maybe?
I hope we didn’t include Tyler O’Neill in this trade. His power is legit. Or, Edwin Diaz. I have to believe the Brewers were able to pry one of Austin Wilson, Tyler Marlette, Gareth Morgan, or Tyler Pike out of this deal.
Claiming all 3 will be teenage pitchers in short or rookie ball. Neidert, Thompson, Wells seem to be the 3 that fit the bill. Maybe 2 of them and someone no one really knows of. Pike is 21 and in advance A, so wouldn’t fit.
I didnt see the Bowden post when i wrote this. I would be surprised if we include Neidert unless we don’t like the progress of his recovery timeline
Stearns seems to have been targeting young LHP, so I would assume Wells would be in for sure. After that maybe Thompson and a project? All 3 of those guys does seem too high and you’re right that Neidert would be the one they would most likely not want to deal.
Per John Morosi M’s send minor league RHPs Carlos Herrera, Daniel Missaki, Freddy Peralta. twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/674635108289220608
Absolutely awful for the Brewers. 3 small RHP who all project to be bull pen arms at best. One took 3 years to get out of rookie ball and another spent 3 full years there with a 4.5 ERA. I realize all 3 are young, but Missaki is the only one who seems to have an even remotely positive scouting report.
This really isn’t a bad return. No, it’s not great, But three very young kids who have demonstrated really good control so far, and are considered “projectable” doesn’t look and feel like it’s a bad return. If just one of the three ends up making it to the bigs, the Brewers made out pretty good here.
I don’t hate this return at all. Even though it’s more likely than not that all three of these players never face one batter in the big leagues, it’s never a bad thing to maximize the best overall possible talent you can acquire, and it’s never a bad thing to gamble on a few kids who have shown something early in their careers despite being so young.
First off think Seattle act to quick in this trade . Lind is nice player but he not the guy who is going to get Mariners to play off or even a World Series . And as Braves fan I’m not stupid to think the Braves are done there going to be more trade combing ex special since the brave are playing for 2018 and more . I have ask Seattle fans would you rather have Freddy Freeman a all star first baseman who is gold glove tip 1b guy who can win battle title and guy who brings teams together or Adam Lind who ok player who has couple of years ?There is reason why Toronto and Milwaukee didn’t want . Think like said before there was monster deal there . Before people say anything know your history biggest trade in history of mlb between two teams is 18 player between the Yankees and tigers in 1956 so there is history of this type of trade .
are you the guy that posted the epic 43 player trade proposal the other night?
Well written
M’s don’t have the prospects to land Freeman, especially after what they got for Miller. I still can’t believe the haul they received the the Dbacks.
So 60 years ago?
Did I wander into the special needs room? Why is a Braves fan berating the M’s for not trading Freddy Freeman, who wasn’t available. Spelling, Grammar. Why the heck not?
The reason Toronto “didn’t want” Lind was because they had enough hitters, Lind was redundant, and needed a pitcher. Marco Estrada fit their needs better.
The reason Milwaukee “didn’t want” Lind was because they weren’t competing this coming season (and possibly not competing in 2017 as well), Lind had one year left, and why waste his talents in Milwaukee this season when he can be moved for younger, more interesting pieces that might be around and contributing to the next Brewers team that’s competitive.
In neither case, was the team who had Lind just looking to get rid of him. He just didn’t fit the current needs of his team at the time, and made more sense to move.
That’s different than just “not wanting” a player and looking to unload whoever for whatever.
Should’ve just kept Trumbo at that price. Same salary, no prospects to give up, no worries of finding a platoon option (internally, free agency, or trade).
Trumbo is terrible! Career OBP just above .300?? That’s garbage.. Ripe, stinky garbage..