While Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto has effectively shown that nothing can be ruled out this winter, newly acquired Jay Bruce told reporters on a conference call following this week’s Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz blockbuster that he’s been told he’ll be a Mariner in 2019 (Twitter link via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). Certainly, Dipoto could find an unexpected trade partner, but it seems that Bruce, 32 in April, will line up in the outfield alongside center fielder Mallex Smith and right fielder Mitch Haniger (assuming neither of them are traded themselves). For all of Seattle’s “re-imagining,” that trio could very well represent a fairly strong outfield mix if Bruce’s bat can return to its 2017 levels, when he hit .254/.324/.508 with 36 home runs.
Here’s more out of Seattle…
- Carlos Santana‘s future with the Mariners is not as set in stone, it seems. Jayson Stark of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the Mariners have given off the sense that they’re “fine with holding onto Santana,” but they’ve also chatted with multiple other teams about the first baseman since his acquisition. Stark notes that the Phillies had a few teams interested before sending Santana to Seattle, so the Mariners should find interest as well, though they’ll surely need to absorb some of the $35MM he’s still owed on the final two years of his three-year, $60MM contract. Santana was loosely connected to the Twins before being traded to Seattle, and MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes ran through a number of plausible landing spots for the veteran first baseman last month.
- In a full column, Divish takes an exhaustive look at what could be next for the Mariners in their rebuild. Haniger’s name figures to be featured prominently on the rumor mill for the remainder of the offseason, particularly because he’s close to the same age as Segura — whom Dipoto suggested would be exiting his prime when the Mariners are fully hitting their stride again (thus the trade). However, Divish explains that the organization feels Haniger will age better “due to his dedicated, almost obsessive, commitment to preparation in the offseason and during the season.” He also examines the case for moving Dee Gordon, reporting that many scouts feel Gordon’s poor 2018 campaign was tied to a broken toe he suffered in May and spent much of the season playing through. The column provides an excellent look at the cases for and against trades of a number of other Mariners players and quite nicely depicts the myriad different avenues Dipoto and his staff could explore before the 2019 season begins.
Hanigers stock is off the roof. That’s when you wanna trade him.
For my own selfish fantasy reasons it needs to be an AL team. He’s one of my keepers.
same!
Same!!
I’ve never heard of stock off the roof. Wouldn’t that imply it fell off the roof and is now dropping?
I think he meant through the roof, but that’s just speculation.
Speculation doesn’t belong on a rumors website! -said a bunch of buzzkills in the last few weeks
I stand corrected and walk weird too.
Haniger and Segura for Marte and Walker. Imagine how good the Dbacks would be if they didn’t make this trade…
True, every team has their own trade like that though.
Yea, but usually those trades are prospects for stars, and the prospects that teams trade in order to buff their ML roster usually are either years from the big leagues or don’t have a path to make the majors on that specific roster. Segura was a ML player coming off a career season, and Haniger was a well regarded prospect that had already seen the majors. Could have easily found the Dbacks roster as a 4th outfielder.
Hanover wasn’t that vaunted as a prospect.
Hanover may not have been, but Haniger was.
Hanover was pretty good though. Struggled against tough RHP though.
Teams don’t put young kids with legitimate potential in bench roles, though. If the only slot they could find for Haniger at the time was 4th OF, then that squarely puts him in the “no path on the current roster” category as his value to the D’backs was greater in trade than what he could contribute (as a 4th OF).
To be fair, Walker looked pretty good in 2017 before he went down with tommy john. He could still bounce back. Marte has been decent as well. It only looks lopsided because Haniger came out of nowhere to become a star
And the crazy thing about Haniger “coming out of nowhere” is that he had performed consistently great after being acquired be the Diamondbacks from the Brewers. He may have been old for league, but that wasn’t for lack of low-minors performance; only for lack of promotion in the Brewers system. The biggest evidence I can see why is a lack of pedigree.
And then there were the “One Day We’ll Probably All Call This the Mitch Haniger Trade” headlines when the M’s-D’backs swap happened.
Granted, I can speak with highly hindsightful 20/20 vision at the moment, but it looks to me like two systems overly trusted scouts for a college hitter (the type of amateur they should lean heavily on stat profiles).
The crazy thing is that everybody thought that was pretty even trade at the time. I feel like my exact thoughts were that this trade could blow up in either teams faces very quickly. Turns out it happened to Arizona, but this is truly a hindsight observation that you couldn’t see at the time.
And now that I go back and reread the comments there were more than a fair share of people who thought Arizona fleeced Seattle in that deal lol.
Yeah I was irate as a Mariner fan. I watched Walker pitch his first double A, AAA, and MLB start. And I loved having a young shortstop. But then it worked out haha. Hoping I can feel the same turn of events for the Diaz/cano trade.
I thought this article was going to say Dipoto came to his sense and “took back” the trade for Segura.
Strong misleading with Haniger in the title just to list Bruce will lineup alongside him if he’s not dealt
Did you read beyond the first paragraph?
The part about how he’ll age well? Yeah riveting stuff
If you had been paying attention, Haniger’s name has been at the center of trade rumors.
This article suggests the Mariners intend to build around him.
That is news and nothing about the title is misleading.
The thing is I have been paying attention to rumors which is why I know putting his name in the title with nonsense about aging well and lining up with Bruce isn’t much more than clickbait
No.
Bruce to the Braves
Doubt it. Bruce is not someone they want because he is not very good and they want good players.
Bruce if healthy could easily hit 30 HR in Atlanta. If the opportunity was given for them to sign him to a cheap deal, they’d do it. The only reason they wouldn’t trade for him is the contract and the fact that their prospects could be plugged in to trade for almost any other outfielder on the trade block.
Sign him to a cheap deal? He is already under contract.
He knows that dude
Hec yeah
I’d much rather the Braves make a play for Haniger. They have the prospects to do it. Inciarte, Acuna and Haniger would make a pretty sweet OF.
What would you be willing to part with though?
Pache, Anderson, Allard, and Demeritte for Haniger
Not even close.
Haha … actually I’m intrigued about what the final result will be – i bet that will be close. Especially when teams start pulling back after waking up that this is only a RIGHT FIELDER.
Surprised Houston isn’t a front runner for Santana. Mariners eat like 15 mil and get back a middling prospect.
Rays should be in on Santana.
Rays and Twins are two good teams for Santana. I love him as person and he is not as terrible as some made him to be, but he was not a fit in Philly at all. He needs to be a DH and part-time 1B at this stage.
Braves on Bruce? No way. I mean yes as a Phillies fan, but bad for the Braves. He is in the same category as Santana. Both are streaky and not really good for a NL team in 2018.
That and $2.50 will buy you a cup of coffee.
Yep……depends on the coin the Mariners take back…..more coin, better prospects……but there’s a definite fit there…..for both teams…..Rays especially….
“Reimaging”? Dipoto is tanking……
He can’t dump contracts all at once, so he does it over a few iterations. In every trade he made this offseason, he took on less money and/or less years. Santana will be gone between tomorrow and the trading deadline. No matter what he said, he’ll try to dump Bruce. That leaves Seager for the position players. Don’t know much about the pitchers.
2019 is to reset the books.
Can’t wait for the “Trout to Mariners 2021” narrative to take hold.
Mariners trade Santana and Haniger to the Jays for Justin Smoak, Kendrys Morales, Teoscar Hernandez, and Thomas Pannone. Money difference is 15M more for Jays but they do get Haniger, who has developed into a nice OF. Thoughts?
Never! Smoak? Lol
Where there’s Smoak there’s fire
Jays fan, eh?
Morales (expensive! negative trade value) and Smoak are on the last years of their deals, especially when Seattle has made it very clear they have no intention of winning in 2019, so why would they be in trading for those players??? Pannone is ranked #27 on their prospect list. Teoscar has a career WAR of 1.0. Does that answer your question?
Frank lay off the drugs and put down your controller. You have been stuck in banana land too long I don’t know if you’ll make it back, to actually hit send after typing that trade scenario out.. no saving you
This is a joke right ?
Seattle isn’t dumping Haniger with Santana and only taking back 3 DH/1b types and a back of the rotation pitcher
Not even close Seattle has to trade kelenic too. Also cancel the trade with Mets. Put Diaz in the trade too.
Obviously a Toronto fan with no sense of how value for a player works.
I’m a jays fan and I’d love that, but it’s a dump for jays.. no value for Seattle
Idiotic!
My “thoughts” are that you should refrain from posting trade offers.
Is it me or does it seem ridiculous to construct your entire time around a single age bracket… I do get there is an influx of exciting core players to come, but why put all eggs in one basket that won’t hatch for a few more years? Especially when Mariner games in the meantime aren’t the cheapest seats around
*team
Sheffield be in the 2019 rotation and Dunn will ideally be up before the end of the year. Smith and Crawford will both be in the 2019 lineup. It’s only Kelenic that’s a few years away.
What khopper said. Dipoto has clearly been focusing on already-MLB, ready and near-ready talent with the only exception being Kelenic. This has matched exactly with his described window of competition opening again in 2020/ 2021.
Santana is another good option for the Yanks. Only position player that’s a better fit than a lefty in NY is a switch hitter….because a switch hitter won’t just balance the lineup, he will also match up great against the Red Sox’ big lefties.
lol
Just what the Yankees need…….
Another 1B/DH. And for only $17.5mm a year!
Question – Won’t there be a logjam when they sign Harper to play 1B, then sign Machado to play SS until Didi returns in 2019….so that they move Andujar to 1B? Also.
Easy, Machado will be manning 3B down in Philly and Harper will resign in DC. The Yankees will save their money for Arenado who is a much better player than both of them. I’m sure they’ll live with Anduhar
Haniger won’t be packaged (you better not Jerry!) with an expensive contract to dilute his return. 2 elite prospects plus another solid prospect or Jerry should hang up.
Smoak will never wear a Mariner jersey again.
He better not.
Mitch Haniger for Soroka and Camargo from the Braves . I just know we need two mlb ready players with the caliber of Haniger
Why would we trade for Soroka and off-load Camargo…What need are we getting from that trade. That trade needs to include at least another prospect that’s a year away from the big leagues.
We?
Too much on the Braves end, Soroka is a keeper. Two years and Soroka will be worth much
The Braves reportedly offered Michael Soroka and Austin Riley for two years of Miami catcher J.T. Realmuto, who has a projected 2019 WAR of 3.7:
twitter.com/CraigMish/status/1070061250820874240
Mitch Haniger, who is less three months older than Realmuto, comes with four years of team control and has a projected 2019 WAR of 2.9.
Johan Camargo has only one year more of team control than Mitch Haniger and as a likely Super Two after the 2019 season should enter arbitration the same year that Haniger does.
Steamer projects 2019 WAR of 0.8 in 87 games for Camargo and 2.9 in 150 games for Haniger.
In today’s chat MLB Trade Rumors writer Jason Martinez wrote that Ian Anderson, Touki Toussaint and Austin Riley probably would not be enough for the Braves to land Haniger.
I would not trade those 3 for anybody but Trout
Oh, stop it. Trout would take much, much more than that. Don’t be ridiculous.
I would not do that trade.
Pache, Anderson, Allard is more in line with a fair deal. Throw in Demeritte if need be as a bonus
So I guess Ben Gamel is a bench bat now?
I would have thought that Bruce would be the DH and either Healy or Seager would play 3b, with the other being traded.
I’m also confused about Gamel. They seem to not want to play him under any circumstance lol. Santana for 1st, Bruce for DH? Healy for bench or trade? Makes sense in my head. Plus you get a young player at bats. We’re rebuilding right? Gamel, Smith, Haniger seems like it’d be the young, controllable and athletic outfield Dipoto rants about. We need to play Seager in hopes of increasing trade value.
For what it’s worth, Steamer projects 2019 WAR of 0.5 in 130 games for Jay Bruce and 1.1 in 141 games for Ben Gamel.
I too see Bruce as the DH candidate in Seattle with Carlos Santana at first base unless traded. Ryon Healy should probably head down to Triple A Tacoma unless Santana is dealt.
Has anyone gone back and done research on Steamer (and other purveyors of computer models) projections?
From what I remember, someone could paste a bunch of WAR numbers on stickies against a wall; take players names out of a hat; throw darts blindfolded at the stickies; and be as accurate as these projecting companies.
Poor memory.
fangraphs.com/library/principles/projections/
beyondtheboxscore.com/2017/1/8/14189138/pecota-zip…
Yeah, too bad. They should try to make room for him to see if he can prove anything with regular ABs. They have nothing to lose by giving him an opportunity, maybe he becomes the LFer of the future, who knows?
I don’t know if he will be the LF of the future with Fraley, Lewis, Thompson-Williams, Bishop and Kelenic in the minors. With that being said, the Mariners should at least try and be solid on defense this year and put Gamel in LF. Everyone knows that Bruce is a low avg guy with good power and below average defense.
Of course you don’t know that he’ll be the LFer of the future. That’s why you give him regular ABs to find out… Nothing to lose by giving him regular ABs when you’re not contending. That’s what rebuilding teams should do: give ABs to guys in their mid-20s with team control over guys who are older w/ less team control…
What’s the point of paying a portion of the salary and getting a middling prospect? If you keep him, you pay it all… why not pay the majority of the contract and essentially buy yourself a Top-10 organization prospect along with that middling prospect from another team?
Because the man is tanking…….
He doesn’t want to pay for prospects or players. He wants to clear anything he can over $1mm a year off the books except for a few guys.
Jerry “likes” J.P. Crawford? Sure he does. He found a guy from the NL that almost all Mariner fans have never seen play. He markets JP as a “diamond in the rough” guy; or “change of scenery” guy; or “bad luck” guy; and gets him to start @ SS for a major league team while paying the guy just over the minimum, Maybe a miracle will happen and the man will play slightly above awful, so Jerry can ride the year out with him and say 2020 looks promising. But if JP plays to his normal level, most casual Mariners fans will not realize until mid-June or July what has happened.
He’s a year removed from being a top prospect. Chill out on JP.
Check out his last 2 minor league stints.
He has yet to hit in AAA. Been there 3 years, hasn’t hit there yet. I think there is reason to be skeptical.
Mitch Haniger and Santana for
Vladimir Guerrero jr Danny Jansen and Nate Pearson lol
Weeeeee best trade offer ever!
Ha that would be nice.
Pretty sure the Blue Jays hang up the phone every time Vlad Jr.’s name is mentioned.
I guess the chances of trading king Felix are about the same as the Yankees trading elsbury at this point. Seattle would have to hope for a rebound and trade him mid season.
After the Mariners traded away four of their top 2018 relievers — Edwin Diaz, Alex Colome, Juan Nicasio and James Pazos — the closer’s role may be turned over to Felix Hernandez.
Or not. 😉
Gerson Bautista will probably get the first chance to close in 2019. If he does a solid job, he may be the closer of the future.
Matt Festa may get the first opportunity to close for the Mariners:
baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=fes…
This year Festa posted a 2.76 ERA, 12.3 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 with 20 saves for the Double A Arkansas Travelers before posting a 2.16 ERA in eight appearances with Seattle.
I doubt they’ll give him the first opportunity especially since he’s pitched 8 games above AA. They would go with a committee before they did that.
Edwin Diaz jumped directly to MLB from Double A but did not close initially.
I would enjoy that
The king is dead…. long live the king
The Braves don’t need to panic and overpay for Haniger ! Soroka & Camargo ?? No Thankyou !!
The Braves should inquire about Wil Myers from the Padres, who are desperately looking for starting pitching, and looking to dump Myers contract because of their surplus of young OF and Hosmer entrenched at 1B.
My trade proposal is Wil Myers+15M for Julio Teheran. I think Teheran is a 15 game winner in San Diego and Myers still only 27 y/o could definitely lengthen the Braves everyday lineup .250 30 2B, 25-30 HR & 20+SB and keep our prospects !!
Overpay? Soroka and Camargo aren’t enough to get Haniger.
Kelenic and Dunn got the Mets Diaz. Yes, Diaz is the best closer in the game but Haniger has more value.
Nobody cares about wins for a pitcher.
Now it is all about the quality start not win and loses the game has really changed
You don’t speak for everybody. If you don’t like something…fine, but that doesn’t mean everyone feels the same way or even should feel the same way.
Ok then, everyone with knowledge doesn’t care about pitcher wins.
Hey you guys need an Outfielder??
Can send you Calhoun for …well whatever you got
I’m guessing all the thumbs down are disgruntled Mariner fans who want to fleece some team for Haniger.
Haniger & Myers are the same age.
Myers has a longer proven track record and definitely available for a much lower prospect cost
Soroka and Camargo isn’t an overpay but it’s a bad deal for both sides
Braves need Camargo’s versatility right now (even if Haniger is brought in). And they need Soroka for pitching depth
Mariners don’t need either player if they move Haniger because neither will fit well with their timeline. They need guys who are close, but not completely MLB ready like Soroka and Camargo
Pache, Anderson, Allard is what this offer should center.
Mariners lineup is good let them all hit and rebuild stock then trade all of them at deadline… Having all them will make them hit better don’t trade anyone else. Holes in lineups pitch around hurt stock
I like their lineup also.
They improved C, 1b, and lf/cf …those positions were horrendous last year.
The middle infield will hit less, but that’s fine as long as play strong D.
Mariners don’t need to dump salary…they have money, and they like Santana.
Smart move is to trade him , but they have 2 years to do so..
Kids need to be surrounded by high character and Santana has it, plus a 360 obp
Dee Gordon to the Angels for Ward + some minor league arm
Leads off and scores 125 runs with 60 SBs. Done deal
That’s what we thought we were getting in Seattle, too…
Jay Bruce will likely DH in SEA.
Trade Haniger, Gordon, Seager, and Leake. Complete the rebuild.
You can’t really trade Seager, his option for $15M becomes guaranteed if he is traded. You’d need to convince a team that he’s worth that before you trade him. He was the most shifted against player in 2018, and hit .188 against it.
Gordon should get some time to rebuild some value, because you aren’t looking at anything more than a marginal prospect in return. If he plays like the player he is truly capable of, you are getting a lot more than a marginal prospect.
Leake, they won’t get much, but they should eat a few mil, to maximize the return.
Haniger, I agree although it sucks to say it. We probably won’t compete in 2019-20, and that’s half his remaining control. Maybe we compete in 2021, maybe not. Not a lot of chips left to move the needle, so we need to trade Haniger.
You sell high antsmith! Seager’s stock has never been lower. He moves him at the trade deadline after a solid first half.
Even with all those trades the mariners have a decent outfield, santana at 1st dee at 2nd and seager at 3rd, if some of the pitching they acquired comes thru you can be looking at a .500 season which would make no sense if your rebuilding
That’s the problem. Too much remaining talent to get a top draft pick. Just have to hope Crawford/Smith/Sheffield/Dunn/Kelenic hit more than they miss.
They will be in-season or deadline trade chips… Santana has been sneaky productive for his entire career averaging 25 HR, 85 RBI, and a .363 OBP – PLENTY solid. (100% traded)
Jay Bruce just hits bombs and everyone knows it. A competing team will trade for that all day at some point during the season. (100% traded)
Dee Gordon could be a pretty big chip if he rebounds and you have to believe there will be bounce-back this season. Plenty of talent and speed to do so. (80% traded)
Kyle Seager… man what a shame. He was my favorite Mariner for the longest time, but he seems to be in a forever funk that I can’t see him getting out of. The shift has obliterated his production and mental toughness. Couple that with his contract and it’ll take a wizard to get rid of him. IF he can start hitting to LF again, we’ll see. (30% traded)
I do believe Dipoto and brass saying Haniger is staying…
How hilarious would it be for the Mariners to acquire Mallex Smith TWICE without him ever even spending Spring Training with them, let alone playing a regular season game?
John Bruce is a beast. Guy has put up unprecedented power numbers from both sides. Seattle got a steal with him. No PED’s just good old fashioned skill.
John Bruce? The former Latin pianist from Marseille?