NOV. 8: MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports that Ruiz’s contract was altered a bit as part of the deal (Twitter link). Ruiz had $500K worth of incentives added to the package, so he’ll now receive $100K for reaching 85, 90, 95, 100 and 105 starts in 2017. That meshes with a recent tweet from ESPN’s Jayson Stark in which Stark indicated that the Mariners anticipate Ruiz playing more regularly than a traditional backup.
NOV. 7: The clubs have announced the swap of Ruiz for Nuno, making it official.
NOV. 6, 10:48pm: The Dodgers are likely to receive left-hander Vidal Nuno, per Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The 29-year-old threw 58 2/3 innings in 55 appearances (one start) with the Mariners in 2016 and logged a 3.53 ERA, 7.82 K/9 and 1.69 BB/9. Nuno previously racked up a combined 38 starts in 66 appearances with the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Mariners from 2014-15. He’s now eligible for arbitraion for the first time, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $1.1MM salary for 2017.
8:19pm: The Mariners will acquire catcher Carlos Ruiz from the Dodgers, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). In return, the Dodgers will receive a pitcher from the Mariners’ 40-man roster, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link).
[Related: Updated Mariners Depth Chart]
Ruiz, who agreed to waive his no-trade clause, will make $4.5MM next season under a club option that the Mariners will exercise. He’s now set to join his third team since August, when the Phillies shipped him to the Dodgers for fellow catcher A.J. Ellis. Ruiz had been with the Phillies organization since signing as an amateur free agent in 1998.
Ruiz was among the majors’ best all-around catchers at times during his Phillies tenure, which began in 2006. While those days are behind Ruiz, he’ll still provide solid insurance behind Mike Zunino in Seattle. Ruiz is coming off a season in which he hit a respectable .264/.365/.348 in 233 plate appearances and threw out a National League-best 42 percent of base stealers. Baseball Prospectus awarded positive throwing and blocking grades to Ruiz in 2016, though neither BP nor StatCorner thought much of his pitch-framing work. Nevertheless, he’s likely an upgrade over previous No. 2 catcher Chris Iannetta, whom the Mariners parted with Thursday, and is clearly preferable to in-house option Jesus Sucre.
For the Dodgers, moving on from Ruiz will open the door for Austin Barnes to serve as Yasmani Grandal’s primary backup. Barnes, 26, has just 74 major league PAs to his name, but he has raked as a minor league hitter in both the Marlins and Dodgers organizations. Los Angeles acquired Barnes in December 2014 as part of a seven-player trade that saw second baseman Dee Gordon head to Miami.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Not really expecting that move. I figured we would have Cozart before a catcher
For a bucket of baseballs and some chewing gum?
Apparently the Whiz Kids didn’t even get that much for him. Anybody on the 40-man roster worth anything?
That makes sense. They acquired Ruiz for one of the worst-hitting catchers in baseball, a below-replacement level player. Can’t imagine they would expect to gt much for him in return.
Dude, what do you expect them to get for Ruiz? They gave up an old catcher hitting 0.194 with a 0.537 OPS, a C-grade spec, and a PTBNL (can you name him? Because I can’t.)
Seems like you just sit around, waiting for moves to be made so you can make dad-jokes about Friedman-Zaidi. I mean, hey, if that’s what does it for ya then go right on ahead — but it’s weird.
Well dude, this is how you do it: You exercise the option, then pay it down to the point where you get a useful return.
Good win now move that cost nothing didn’t work out and now won’t retrieve anything. There’s really no controversy.
Yup, I’m sure the Dodgers never thought of that. Paying down a deal and getting a better return is something this FO knows nothing about.
LOL
So, did they do it?
You understand that it takes two parties to make trades work, right? The Dodgers don;t get to say, “hey Mariners, we’re paying this contract down and taking a better prospect.”
Also, $4.5M is peanuts in today’s game. The salary isn’t a deterrent here. And secondly, Ruiz isn’t the kind of talent that teams will pony up good specs for. It is what it is.
What are you even arguing about?
So pretty sure the dodgers aren’t paying the 4.5 it says the mariners picked up the option.
It’s a 5 milll option for a backup C I don’t know exactly what you’re looking for. Useful define useful. They receive a loogy with an option as Avilan has no options. So sure they gave up nothing and they got nothing. Plus the more valuable thing here is the roster spot.
$4.5m option with a $500k buyout so essentially a $4m option
Useful, as in plugging one of the many holes in the lineup and bullpen with a reasonably useful player. What they got in Nuno is basically a HR machine who gets mashed by RHB. A marginal player who takes up that valuable roster spot. I am still waiting for the argument against the Dodgers paying down Ruiz’s contract for more than a warm body return.
It’s been given, you just won’t except it.
He’s a younger/better JP Howell who probably won’t be used against right handed hitters much anymore. This is a fine move.
Not even remotely. Talking around a point isn’t the same as talking to it. They had leverage with dollars that they elected not to use. They decided to hang onto the money instead. Defend that approach if you think you can but don’t try to tell me they had no way of increasing their return when it’s so clear that they did.
Imagine actually getting into an argument about trading a 39 year old catcher
Stop trying to complain about something that’s not here. Deals like this happen all the time, and even if they payed the entire salary they wouldn’t get much back
The Ruiz contract was attractive enough at face value to return a marginal player. Sweeten it with cash if you want to get more than a marginal player in return. Not that this isn’t exactly how it works, and alway has worked. So they had an opportunity to get better, but took the push instead. This fact is inarguable, so I suppose that’s why nobody has any made any effort to actually respond to it.
paid*
Say the Dodgers paid the entire contract, what player do you think they would get for a backup catcher? they’d be buying a marginal prospect who would likely never make the league for 4 million. Thats an expensive lottery ticket.
Dodgers should make a move for Betances and castro
It’d take Corey Seager or Urias/De Leon to get those two.
Not really.
You are out of your mind. That’s beyond laughable. Betances has huge value. Castro was acquired for a sub par long man/ 5th starter. Seager and Urias wouldn’t even be in a conversation to acquire either.
Totally agree about Seager as he’s untouchable, but for Betances, if no Urias, then no Betances.
Haha well realistically that would never even be seriously discussed especially seeing that Urias has 6 years of control and an elite reliever can still be had for less.
Look at what Miller and Chapman fetched and then look at what they were making and what Betances is making. Betances is arguably the most valuable reliever in the game.
I wouldn’t trade Edwin Diaz’ 6 years of control for Betances 3 arb years.. That’s one guy worth more.
Lol no way
Lmao that made my daddy! There untouchable
Who’s your daddy?
That comment is your grandfather?
Simple yet perfect. Well done.
smart move for the Mariners. Quite a bargain imo. kind of wish the angels could have jumped on that to fill the hole and share time with Bandy.
Good move for the Mariners. Was hoping the Dodgers would keep him. He proved to be a good hitter against Lefties still. I don’t trust Barnes as our back up at all. I’m curious what this off season holds for the Dodgers. We see they traded Ruiz and Kazmir has opted in. They need fix that rotation, get a hitter, bring back Turner, trade Puig, bring back Jansen and get a few new arms for the bullpen at least one new arm.
I like Barnes as a backup over Ruiz. He can rake and isn’t an old man. we have enough veteran presence already. And fix the rotation? How so? Injuries can’t really be predicted. As it stands, assuming guys will be healthy, our rotation looks a lot better than last year, which got us 2 wins away from the series. Of course I wouldn’t mind seeing a trade to get ZG back or even adding Hammel since the cubbies don’t want him. Bullpen never hurt to have as many solid arms as possible. I think trading Puig is a mistake. Why trade him on the low and not get good value for him. I wouldn’t mind seeing a trade for braun tho and also kinsler. Should be an exciting winter for Dodger fans
The Dodgers get out from that salary burden, now they can afford a couple free agents, or maybe extend Puig.
Probably won’t do that. Don’t seem to like Puig, he’s likely heading out, maybe to Milwaukee.
i think the Puig market will get pretty big, once Cespedes signs somewhere, as the Dodgers will wait to try re-sign Turner before they shop him, so they can use him to fill the void. Also the JD Mart trade market will impact who is in on Puig.
I would be in on Puig, as I’ve stated many a time on this site. There wasn’t much of a bite on the Puig front at the trade deadline though, so we’ll see how the rest of the league sees him. Milwaukee seems to see something in him. Working out a Braun deal will be no small task, but I still feel like that’s likely to happen.
It wasn’t a salary burden. It was a club option. So basically the dodgers picked up a pitcher from Sea 40 man roster for trading Ruiz’s option. And extending Puig is the Last Thing on this planet or that this FO is going to do. 10% chance if not less Puig is a Dodger come opening day 17′
Yeah, that salary burden was sure weighing them down.
lol yeah I’m sure Friedman was going into the offseason thinking that he couldn’t make any moves unless he got out from under that Ruiz contract..
You know, the sad part about this is it might be kind of accurate. Seeing Friedman take the push on Ruiz instead of using cash to leverage his contract for something the Dodgers really need to get better confirms a lot of what I’ve been seeing from these guys. Their main goal is moving this team towards being cheaper and more profitable for ownership. If they can be competitive at the same time they’ll take it, but it isn’t their first purpose.
Wouldn’t he have had to waive his 10/5 from Philly and no longer have them in LA?
He waived his 10/5 to leave Philly, yes. He doesn’t get 10/5 from the Dodgers because he didn’t spend five years there
That’s what I thought. Thank you for assuring me I’m not losing it.
Really not sure why Andy McCullough started talking about 10-5 rights when they don’t apply to Ruiz at all. Unnecessary for MLBTR to link to his tweet as well.
So are the Dodgers planning to deploy Austin Barnes as the primary backup? Or is an AJ Ellis reunion imminent.
Ellis will never again play on the Dodgers as long as Dave Roberts is coach, and he shouldn’t really play anywhere after snitching lies to the media on Puig.
Another observation coming from the deepest, darkest part of Planet Baseball.
He not lying. Ellis/Gonzales are the BIGGEST snitches in baseball
Huh?
I think how Ellis treated Puig was deplorable, and has attempted to ruin Puig’s career, what’s wrong with saying that doesnt belong? Ellis belongs on no team with that attitude.
twitter.com/VinceSamperio/status/76892444959680512…
Haven’t heard anything about Gonzalez(?) but AJ Ellis is an extreme dbag and clubhouse cancer who aired out Puig so much it became obnoxious.
Which is probably why the Dodgers’ clubhouse was described by the players as being like a tomb when they got the news that Ellis was traded.
Ellis a clubhouse cancer? Hahahaha. Everybody had choice words about Puig. Not just Ellis. Kerhsaw was the biggest hater for a while so AJ I’m sure was saying what kerhsaw really couldn’t. Kent was a clubhouse cancer. AJ was extremely well respected and liked. These dudes were litterlaly crying after hearing the news of his trade. Not just kerhsaw. Not sure where you got he was a clubhouse cancer but that sounds like something from a casual
Gonzo and Crawford both ran their mouth on the way out of Boston, the chicken and beer thing is attributed to gonzo
Ah, right on.
Yeah sure Frank, all the Dodgers beat writers and people covering the team are lying and YOU know the truth.
Kershaw a hater? LOL no way no how. Stop stanning for a cancer and just accept you got bamboozled and lied to by a conniving, replacement level player hell bent on keeping his place on the team by any means necessary, many of the team did were so its no big deal. This just goes deeper than the public perception Ellis created for himself.
Some remedial education on Ellis:
nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Dodger-Players-and-Co…
latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-sp-dodgers-ellis-her…
What the hell are you referencing about Ellis and a Puig controversy?
So if you were a member of the Dodgers or Mariners front office would you trade Julio Urias for Felix Hernandez straight up? I think it is an interesting question considering King Felix had his worst year yet. If I were the Dodgers I’d at least look into it because you have to think he will learn how to pitch post prime.
That would maybe be the most puzzling trade in the history of baseball. A past-his-prime pitcher with a massive contract and real injury concerns for a 19-year old stud, controllable for six more seasons with nasty stuff. Yeah. I don’t see that happening. I’m sure Seattle would jump at that though.
Not a chance. Felix is 30 years old coming off his worst season. Urias showed flashes of pure brilliance at 19/20 years old. He can be a legit number 1 on almost any team. Next season I expect him to sit around the mid 3s in era. Which would be much better than kerhsaw first season. King Felix was incredible but it appears he might be on the decline while Julio is on the rise. Besides that isn’t Felix signed until 2019 only? Def not a good trade. Wouldn’t even take the call
Ruiz doesn’t have 10-5 rights he just has a no trade clause. Andy fixed his tweet
I wonder if Puig can catch?
He can certainly throw!
I’m sure we are looking at someone.
Time will tell
I vaguely recall a report that he was the third string catcher when Barnes wasn’t on the 25 man or during September.
Glad others are catching it, but it’s still in the article. He would’ve needed to be with LA at least 5 years to have 10/5 rights.
Ah, wanted the O’s to get him so we can give Sisco some more time down at the farm. Great move for Seattle though, gotta love Chooch.
Does this mean the M’s lose Sucre on waivers since his first call up was over 3 years ago and he’ll need to be waived to exercise a minor league option?
That’s a pretty expensive backup catcher to be trading for, I don’t like it if they’re punting Sucre. Seems inefficient.
Sucre would clear waivers, barring a team desperate to replace an injured catcher.
And I just checked to see Sucre does have one more option
All I know is that the Dodgers better bring back Turner and ass another hitter. Wee could really use a power hitter from the right side like Cespedes or make that trade for Braun.
Apparently the Braun talks fell through when MIL asked for Bellinger. If true, I don’t b lame the FO for looking elsewhere.
Yea I don’t blame them either if that’s the case. I’m sure they can make it happen without him though. If not they should really try to get Cespedes.
Power from the right side really isn’t the problem. The problem is guys that can hit both and get on base or hit in situations. A healthy Thompson will definitely help. We also saw how important defense was in the WS and LCS. I’d like to see Eaton (who is a even split guy) allowing them to lengthen the lineup and a (S/RH 2b). They need to see if Toles and Pederson can grow to handle lhp. This team isn’t too far off Contact/Speed should be major emphasis along with guys who have proven to be situational hitters.
Mariners have 11 right handed relievers or swingmen on the 40man. Look for Cody Martin, Jonathan Aro, Arquimedes Caminero, or Tony Zych to be involved in the deal
I’d think Tony Zych is too valuable. He’s got options, is cheap, and was talked about as a potential closer before his injury. I’d replace him with like Wilhelmsen on that list, cuz he’s likely to get nontendered, just as Ruiz was likely to have his option declined
Very true. I like Zych and would said to see him go, but Friedman is good at trades and I wouldn’t be surprised if they get a good name
Vidal Nuno?! That’s surprising considering we are already lacking quality left handed relievers. I wonder if Dipoto already has a plan to fill that need…
There’s no way he would trade Nuno and not have a plan. And anyways Nuno would not qualify at all into the lefty specialist catagory, he was just a innings eater in the bullpen that was left handed and he was actually pretty good at his job.
This is a bit of a surprise I thought they were going to try him back as a starter again. I know Miranda did pretty good but you can’t have too many options with lefty starters. There must be a plan in place or they are comfortable with Miranda or 1 lefty in Paxton and Karn’s(yuck) getting the starting job. Would rather see 2 lefties though.
I think Miranda could be a pretty good 5th starter, but if he moved to the bullpen his velocity could go up to 95-97 area and become the lefty peice we need, but that’s to much guessing so I think we should go out and get a proven lefty.
I think the Dodgers made out pretty well here. Perhaps the M’s are hoping Ruiz can help Zunino develop further.
Angels need to trade for a second or third baseman. any potential trade candidates? I was thinking Scooter Genett
or mayb Jean Segura
Segura would cost a lot more in a trade than Scooter. Doubt the Angels have the prospects to pull that off.
Or Robinson Cano or Dustin Pedroia, if only the Angels had a farm system to trade from..
Or if either of those two were even close to available…
Yeah like Seattle is going to trade Cano to the Angels maybe for Trout and your #1 pick this year. No way they would trade him in Div maybe the last couple years of his contract but not right now. Lol
Derek Dietrich or Scooter would be nice. Kolten Wong can be another option.
As much as I don’t have faith in Barnes I now like this trade. That’s a pretty solid leftie out of the bullpen. I think JP may be a goner now.
i cant imagine why the Dodgers would want another marginal starter/long man…thought theyd try get a backup infielder type, someone to bench in place of Utley.
DiPoto is “on the loose” again, making trades for the sake of doing so. First off, the M’s do not have an effective replacement for Nuno on the roster (David Rollins, Dean Kiekhefer, Pat Venditte) unless they move Ariel Miranda from the rotation to the pen. In either case, the M’s will now need to make at least one additional move to fill a legitimate need, rather than a possible need at backup catcher. And Nuno was projected to only get $1.1 million in arbitration; will the M’s be able to fill a rotation or bullpen spot for that? No… Jerry Blevins is probably looking at a 2-year, $5-$6 million contract on the open market, so no way the M’s fill the hole for that little.
Now, in order for this trade to happen, Ruiz had to waive his no-trade clause. The M’s had to pick up Ruiz’s $4.5 million option for 2017 to make that happen. MLBTR projects Sucre to make $600,000 in arbitration. Is Ruiz $3.9 million better than Sucre? Not at this point of his career, that’s for sure. And certainly not for what will ostensibly be a backup catcher. Sucre is probably as good as, if not better than, Ruiz behind the plate at this point, and the offense probably isn’t too far behind.
And let’s think about that option. There’s no way the Dodgers would have picked that option up, and there’s no way that Ruiz would have received anything close to $4.5 million on the free agent market. He was looking at a low-base, high-incentive contract or even a minor league deal at this point. And the M’s felt the need to deal a player to secure Ruiz at that bloated amount? The M’s certainly have greater areas of need than backup catcher: SS, 1B, LF, rotation, bullpen. This was a “panic” move, much like the Wade Miley deal last year.
The only way this trade makes sense is if the M’s are committed to, once again, send Mike Zunino to AAA-Tacoma to start the year. After his recall last season, it looked for a while as if he had turned the corner with the bat… but then I guess he thought he left his wallet behind, so he headed right back around that corner and returned to his free-swinging and missing days. The M’s may have decided that they wanted Ruiz to START for them at the beginning of the season until Zunino comes around again. Then it adds up a little more.
Otherwise, there’s no way this is anything but a negative for the M’s. -1 for DiPoto to start the off-season.
First week of the off season first trade off the off season way too soon to make any kind of call like that. You have no idea what the plan is. Until he starts trading major pieces there is nothing to worry about. Nothing major here.
Two future Hall of Famers in their prime being traded
This trade might affect the other teams that don’t have a good starting catcher, it’s will only upgrade catchers like Weiters, Ramos Castro, and McCann moving forward. Supply and demand. Teams like the Nats O’s, White Sox, Astros, Angels,Reds, Rays, Twins, Padres, and Braves. Only a few a these teams will be able to upgrade at catcher this winter.
What a bone-head move by the Mariners. A decent pitcher for a 37 year old, washed up catcher, who can’t hit?!
I don’t get it either. Don’t the M’s need two lefty relievers now?
Nuno wasn’t any better against leftys than he was righties.
Seen plenty of Nuno during his time with the Yanks. Basically Triple-A depth who can be a halfway-decent fill-in 5th starter at his best, kind of like how Bolsinger was for LA two years ago. Considering the injury history of some of the Dodgers’ starters and Urias being on an innings limit, it’s not a terrible move. The HR issues are true, though it’ll be mitigated somewhat in that park.
He’s got a ML option left, so you don’t have to keep him on the 25-man, and the cost wasn’t much. Basically Ruiz’s buyout + an extra 600K or so. Ruiz was expendable anyway, Barnes will be the backup C.
I like the move. Minor stuff but, Ruiz had no real place on the roster – Barnes needs a shot. And the Dodgers need another lefty (Liberatore is gone for a while IIRC). Helps that he has an option too.
Early days but, good value.
If you play for the Philly Stinkies and are slightly above average, you’re considered a legend lol.