Less than 24 hours after beefing up their lineup with the acquisition of Randy Arozarena, the Mariners have bolstered their bullpen by acquiring right-hander Yimi Garcia from the Blue Jays. Outfielder Jonatan Clase and minor league catcher Jacob Sharp are going from Seattle to Toronto in return.
Garcia, 34 next month, is in his third season with the Jays. He originally signed a two-year, $11MM contract with Toronto, but he’s beefed up that contract through his performance. Garcia pitched enough games to vest a $6MM option for the current season and also picked up an additional $1MM of incentives in years one and two of the contract, ultimately turning it into a three-year, $18MM pact. He’s a rental for the Jays who’ll be owed $2.1MM from now until season’s end. Garcia is a free agent thereafter.
Regarded as one of the better relief arms on this year’s market, Garcia will bolster a bullpen that looked like one of the strongest in the game heading into the season but has been hit with some notable injuries. Star setup man Matt Brash required Tommy John surgery that knocked him out for the season, while offseason trade acquisition Gregory Santos only recently made his team debut after suffering a significant lat strain in spring training. The right-hander was removed from his most recent appearance with a knee issue. Perhaps that pushed the Mariners to make this move, but Santos has not yet been placed on the injured list, nor has the team announced a substantial injury for the right-hander.
Seattle has spent much of the season patching things together on the bridge to manager Scott Servais’ excellent closer, Andres Munoz. Now, if Santos’ knee injury proves minor they could go from a piecemeal approach to a pair of high-octane setup men in a matter of weeks.
Garcia has been a force this year, sporting a career-high 96.7 mph average fastball en route to a mammoth 36.5% strikeout rate that tops his prior career-high by nearly five percentage points. He’s coupled that with a strong 7% walk rate.
Over the past two seasons, Garcia has notably cut back on the usage of that fastball and significantly upped his curveball usage, helping to contribute to the rise in punchouts. He’s sitting on an excellent 2.70 ERA that metrics like FIP (2.64) and SIERA (2.30) suggest could undersell his performance to date. Garcia has gone 5-for-6 in save opportunities (bringing his career total to 26) and picked up 10 holds this year as well. He only just returned from a monthlong stay on the injured list due to a bout of elbow neuritis (nerve inflammation), but Garcia has tossed two innings, faced eight batters and punched out five of them while averaging 96.6 mph on his fastball; the elbow doesn’t seem to be bothering him.
In return for Garcia, the Jays will add a big league-ready outfielder with a full six seasons of club control: Clase. The 22-year-old speedster made his big league debut with the M’s earlier this season and .195/.233/.220 slash in a tiny sample of 44 plate appearances. That’s a small enough number of plate appearances at a young enough age that it’s not worth reading into; Clase has had a nice season in Triple-A Tacoma this year, slashing .274/.373/.483 with 10 homers, 11 doubles, four triples and 26 steals in 35 attempts. His 25.7% strikeout rate there is higher than one would prefer for a player who’s considered to have below-average power, but Clase has also walked in nearly 15% of his plate appearances.
This year’s 26 steals are a nice mark but they don’t tell the full tale of Clase’s speed. Baseball America pegs him as a 70-grade runner (on the 20-80 scale), while FanGraphs lists him as a true 80-grade burner. His 29.6 ft/sec average sprint speed this season (as measured by Statcast) ranks in the 97th percentile of MLB players. Clase swiped a whopping 79 bases (94 attempts) in just 129 games between High-A and Double-A last year — all while hitting .242/.353/.449.
For a Jays club that’ll see Kevin Kiermaier retire at season’s end, he stands as a potential everyday player as soon as 2025 … if he can make enough quality contact to keep himself in the lineup. The Blue Jays have one of the game’s best outfield defenders in Daulton Varsho, who could slide to center in place of Kiermaier next year, but Clase will have a chance to win an everyday role regardless of whether it’s in left or center. Despite all his speed, Clase isn’t regarded as the same level of defender as Varsho, though he’s young enough that he could of course improve his reads, jumps and routes in the years ahead.
Sharp, 22, was Seattle’s 17th-round pick just last summer. The former UNLV backstop is a right-handed hitter who’s spent the season thus far in Class-A, hitting .255/.339/.435 (105 wRC+). He’s a bit old for that level, but it’s still hard to overlook his eye-catching bat-to-ball skills. Sharp has struck out in only 9.9% of his plate appearances — a mark that’s barely higher than his 9.4% walk rate. He’s thrown out 21% of runners who’ve attempted to steal against him since being drafted. He’s a longer-term play than Clase, but a catcher with that type of feel for contact makes for an interesting add to the lower levels of the farm.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported that the Mariners were acquiring Garcia and sending Clase to Toronto. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith first reported Sharp’s inclusion in the trade.
Good for you Jerry you care about the team
Garcia is a decent addition but I liked clase and his potential
Sure, but Clase will also cost you your prospects. I don’t think the Mariners are close enough to winning to make that trade yet.
Oops, you were talking about the kid, not the closer
Adding Yimi Garcia means caring for your team? Sorry, but as a Marlins fan, getting rid of Yimi Garcia showed caring for our team when that happened. And us getting De La Cruz for him was a bonus.
Yeah, the marlins are clearly a team that cares about winning.
Do you not realize that Yimi was a part of the bullpen problem in Miami?
Also, take a look at what we got for him when we traded him.
Marlins ownership has made the team look bad, but trading away Yimi is not the deal you should defend with that type of logic.
Rethink your statement.
3-4 years ago Garcia was on the Marlins? Time to get over it bud. He’s had plenty of success since.
Garcia had a 2.6 ERA in Miami so not really sure what you’re even rambling about. I’ve done some rethinking on my statement and come back thinking you’ve been drinking tonight.
You do realize that Yimi has been excellent this year with the Jays right?
You do realize that sometimes players improve over time?
You do realize that Yimi’s performance with the Marlins was good enough that a contender traded 2 players for him right?
You do realize that BRYAN De la Cruz isn’t exactly a player one would suggest is a bonus?
Yimi Yimi Cocoa Pop
I don’t think this was a wise move for Seattle(picking up Arozarena was a steal for them) but the M’s have very little firepower offensively and with Julio and JP going on the IL most likely , offense would have been a better place to add than BP.
Who says they still can’t pick up more offense? Are you thinking they are done.BP was a place of need also and still can add more offense.
Nice pickup Seattle
Already seems like a heavy package for a rental RP.
I don’t think any Mariner fan is going to miss watching Clase especially after the Astros series.
Kid can run like the wind, I’ll give him that. He and Julio next to each other was like a brick wall out there
He has all the speed and power you could ever dream of in a player. Issue is that the contact and instincts just aren’t there at all yet.
Yeah he might just be another Billy Hamilton or bubba Thompson
He and Julio down by the schoolyard?
nah, trading Clase’ is a bad move. Seattle will regret this decision in 2 yrs or so.
Sending Clase’ north for a rental RP makes no sense, this diPoto move now offsets all the good vibes from the big Randy / Tampa trade…
Now Jerry better grab a Robert Jr or some more hitters or Seattle is toast.
minimum 2 more stud hitters needed, preferably someone for 1B for sure.
You can’t steal first, so unless you put Clase in a PR/defensive replacement position, he’s just not there. This was a deal for today and with Santos potentially hurt once again, it’s a good one.
Clase is unplayable in the majors this season and I think he’ll still need more time in the minors next year, I don’t see how this is any different than trading one of their prospects for Garcia.
Clase is a CF. Julio is signed through Clase’s potential arbitration years
Unless Jerry plans to use Garcia in another trade. Flip him maybe.
He’s not a CF, he’s really bad in the field. He might get better but he takes very bad routes to balls.
Wrong.
Yea but he also traded for santos and has gotten basically nothing out of him, so he’s not a victim of circumstance. He’s creating his own holes to fill
There’s no point in trading Garcia after acquiring him
If Jerry sends him to a bad team the bad team has no use for him
If Jerry sends him to a good team why couldn’t the good team just have done a deal with the blue jays
This isn’t the Mike piazza marlins situation
Well actually you’re sending Clase *south,* as Toronto’s latitude is a full 4° further south than Seattle’s 😉
Denunzio,
Seattle is north of Toronto.
They’re sending Clase south.
I agree sir. 86 k’s in 78 games in 2024 is saying the kid still needs more seasoning. I think it’s kinda a high price for just a 60 game rental in yimi, but all Garcia’s underlying stats say his numbers should be BETTER. I don’t mind the trade. Lazaro is gonna be the full time RF come 2026. And we got raley in LF and randy in RF now. He doesnt fit on the team. He also takes questionable paths to the ball in OF.
He’s not a victim of circumstance? Jerry didn’t know Santos was going to get injured right after acquiring him. So circumstances happened right?
They surely should have been able to outbid the Cubs for PAREDES
Rays wanted a major league ready player as a part of the return and M’s just have faraway prospects.
Paredes is pull-heavy RH. Not sure if he’s the best fit at Safeco, which probably means somebody else would outbid the M’s since his value would be a little lower playing half his games at Safeco.
M’s won’t land everybody anyway.
Are the Mariners trying to overcompensate this year for doing more selling than buying last year? Last I checked, they fell out of 1st place and are free falling down the WC standings with injuries to Julio and Crawford.
Yes.
the division is very winnable this year. They’re ONE game out. They’re not shooting for the Wild Card dude.
Moving in the wrong direction though. This could end up being a band aid that falls off by Monday resulting in a last minute sell before the deadline
Randy is controllable through 2026. He and Julio next to each other for the next 2 years, that deal makes a ton of sense not just short but also long term. Yimi is a short term rental, absolutely.
A few days and games won’t make us sell Randy and yimi
Not if they acquire 8 other hitters to accompany Arozarena.
Both good trades but what didn’t they trade for Paredes
Agreed. Weakest division in baseball. How did the Rangers win the World Series last year?
Better yet—how will baseball ever recover from the least-followed World Series in modern baseball history???
At least if the Mariners were to miraculously make the World Series people would watch because it would be their first—the last novelty.
Just last year the AL west was considered one of the stronger divisions but this year with the AL and NL central getting better and the rangers being bad it’s not good
Everyone loved the nationals being in the WS in 2019 (I didn’t I just laughed and asked for more liquor since the m’s became the last) and they won it and there was so much support
When the raptors of the nba won it also had a huge impact
But I wonder if this mariners core can win a pennant (or even just get to the playoffs)
Keep adding Rays (Paredes, Diaz) and find out!!
Save baseball.
That’s a pretty good prospect to give up for a reliever. Even if I don’t like the value for the Mariners I do like that they are making moves to win this year. And they did pretty well in the Arozarena deal too so whatever.
Clase has some tools but some flaws as well. He’s a second tier prospect for us. My only concern on this deal is the injury Yimi has earlier this year
Clase is closer, but Aidan Smith is a much better prospect. Clase is really likable, but I think this was a reasonable trade.
The Orioles could have matched that with guys they wouldn’t even know were gone. Can’t understand why they didn’t.
Intradivisional?
They just acquired Eflin from the Rays, so that isn’t the issue.
Toronto might think different than Tampa. just a thought
Toronto wouldn’t care about trading a rental in division.
sounds good
You amongst FOOLS- maybe the O’s did make an offer, and maybe (read: probably and likely since, you know…) Toronto valued Seattle’s final offer more.
Perceptive. Well done!
FOyouOLS too?
🙂
Seems they dreamed on Clase possible outcome vs probable outcome. Falling in love makes you do stupid things and no other team could get their attention.
Don’t trade the top 8 or 9 prospects and I’m fine. It still won’t matter, there not making the playoffs. After the season trade Castillo, Kirby and any of the numerous scrubs on the active roster bring up the prospects. And also pay Gilbert
I don’t think you know anything about anything? Did you just get hit by the stupid train?
No I’ve seen your dumb ass post before. Your a know it all of know it ville.
Castillo and kirby scrubs? But Gilbert is the one to Pay? Do you watch baseball?
I didn’t call Kirby and Castillo scrubs. But there allot scrubs who can’t hit. You have a farm system for a reason, I.e. jrod, cal Kirby, Gilbert, woo and miller. You can start bringing up the top prospects and let them play. We are a mid market team, there’s only gonna be a handful of players we can pay top dollar. By trading Castillo and Kirby, you should be able to get good young hitters
Pretty bold trading both Castillo and Kirby. Mariners farm has better hitters than pitchers. Maybe trade 1 but not both
He’s just like the I hate Ronald acuna guy or the Kyle showers is god and Connor norby is Jesus
Garcia has been good his whole career. He has been great this year. 99mph fastball and two wipeout off speed pitches. Since he came off the IL last week: 2 appearances, six outs, five strikeouts. He will absolutely help your BP
See 2018.
Um, as a Marlins fan, I can tell you that Yimi Garcia has not been good his whole career.
Every team has their own mistakes, we had young Adrian beltre come off an MVP season then .700 ops with meh seasons and when he left he put up HOF seasons
I understand that pain just don’t let it get in your head
The fact of the matter is Garcia has a 2.70 ERA and that’s a good number for a lot of teams but who knows he could do good or he could be worse than his marlins days
good pickup for the Mariners, if only they didnt go on that big losing streak thwye woulkd be in first and much better
Any Mariners fans give us Jays fans a synopsis of Clase and Sharp? Clase has an OPS of 34 and a WAR of -02. Not exactly standout numbers but its a small sample size.
Clase is super fast and I have no idea on sharp.
Clase is as fast as any player in baseball, and has above average power. Just doesn’t make contact and lacks instincts on the bases and in the field.
Bingo. This is the perfect analysis
Don’t worry about the MLB numbers. He’s not really ready. Basically serving the pinch runner spot at the bottom of the roster when he’s been up.
He’s really bad in the field, which is kind of strange with how fast he is.
Sharp was a 17th round pick last year. He’s playing well, but isn’t one of the 6 or 7 best players on the Nuts, so we haven’t really noticed him.
Clase is a super hard worker. Fastest guy on the planet. He has a nice power game, but he’s short, so there’s some concern that he’s selling out for power. He needs a full year at AAA, but he could well emerge as a solid regular with progress. If it’s in there, he’ll make it happen.
Looks like Atkins is trying to redo the Teoscar Hernandez trade again. Clase looks to comp as a pretty similar player at the time they initially brought in Teo.
I like trading for raw tools. They have floor guys all over their system so taking a chance at upside is a nice change.
Omg I thought you meant the Toronto to Seattle trade and I thought
Erik Swanson? Clase?
Not sure what JD is looking at here but for Yimi this is a good return, factoring everything from his contract to his free agency and recent injury. The outfielder “should” cover plenty of ground in the outfield, and the Jays lack outfield talent coming up.
How Teoscar fits in here is strange. Not a similar comparison.
Similar in most ways, but year and a half younger, even more speed, less power potential (even if the power results so far have been similar). The age is the biggest key I think, better chance that he works out his issues. More than I expected for a reliever rental and makes contending in 2025 more plausible (though still requiring luck).
Im not seeing the Teo/Clase comp. Clase had 79 steals last year. Teo has 46 for his career. You can find some other free swinger to comp Clase with just find one without lead in his cleats.
I see a lot of young Derek Fisher.
Okay, that’s two. Next up, Yandy Diaz, Luis Robert, or Tanner Scott and Josh Bell or Jazz Chisholm. Don’t stop now.
How about Jazz and Ryan Mountcastle for first base?
Love it, Ignorant SOB!
Maybe I’m missing something but I don’t see the O’s giving up Mountcastle for anything short of a current MLB starter. I know they have a logjam, but they don’t need to trade him. But as long as we’re dreaming, might as well throw in Vlad, too.
MLBTradeRumors (the #1 source for breaking news and rumors in baseball) suggested a Mountcastle or Mullins trade would be to recoup some part of the prospect value the O’s are expected to send out in other deals.
Luis Robert? Price too high for a flawed player who can;’t stay on the field.
Josh Bell. is hitting roughly what Ty France was when Seattle released; him the other day — they’re not gonna be interested (and Bell is terrible at first base). Jazz Chisolm? Most overrated player in baseball according to a recent survey of MLB players by The Athletic. Crazy personality. Seems like another Chone Figgins.
The mariners need guys who have been in the postseason, not scrubs like Jazz and Bell who play for awful teams. If you hadn’t noticed, both players Dipoto acquired in the last 24 hours have had extensive postseason experience – and lots of success!
Jazz has some untapped potential and he seems to have really turned it on the last week or two. I think he can be dynamic if he’s handled correctly.
Would you say this again in the next post?
Luis Robert? Price too high for a flawed player who can;’t stay on the field.
Josh Bell. is hitting roughly what Ty France was when Seattle released; him the other day — they’re not gonna be interested (and Bell is terrible at first base). Jazz Chisolm? Most overrated player in baseball according to a recent survey of MLB players by The Athletic. Crazy personality. Seems like another Chone Figgins.
The mariners need guys who have been in the postseason, not scrubs like Jazz and Bell who play for awful teams. If you hadn’t noticed, both players Dipoto acquired in the last 24 hours have had extensive postseason experience – and lots of success!
Where have I read this before?
I was hoping for Pete Fairbanks but Yimi Garcia will do.
Perfect trade for both sides. Mariners get a potentially very useful bullpen arm to help and Blue Jays get a lottery ticket of tools in Clase.
Santos is hurt again, so this move is a response to that.
Decent return for Yimi.
atkins did something….
Why is this article acting like santos is healthy?
most likely because the Mariners haven’t issued any reports on Santos since his last outing
Has there been any update on that?
Wondered that, too.
No updates from the team yet, just “felt pain in knee”
He’s going to be ready to go Saturday. He’s fine.
Clase swings way too much to be successful
Given what we’ve seen, I think the odds of the Mariners organization fixing that are about zero.
What happened to their “Dominate the Zone” approach?
That was several years ago. Now it’s “go up hacking.”
Yimi, why you do this to me?
Because you sew socks that smell!
Another trade that helps the M’s without giving up one of their Top 8 prospects? Awesome….. Not a Clase fan. Athletic for sure but too much swing and miss and seems akward in the OF at times. AT LEAST one more bat please!
Now please release Stanek so Servais doesn’t keep going to him in the 8th inning.
Thornton and Voth need to go before Stanek.
Done!
Thanks Zippy!
Very cool when your wishes come true, Ignorant!
If the mariners sign Garcia to an extension I’ll like this move but if we just sent Clase out for the estimated 20 innings Garcia will pitch it’s a terrible deal.
Disagree. These are the trades you make if you want to win this year. I only wish they’d traded for Vlad before he got hot a month ago. The Jays might have parted with him back then.
Disagree. This trade doesn’t help the Mariners win anything. He can pitch 20 shutout innings over the next two months but unless he can get on base this moves the needle zero. Did they “fill a need” sure you can argue they did. Was it the need needing filling for your 10th ranked prospect? Good lord no. Again sign him for longer I’m on board with the price but for 20 innings?
Don’t know if you’ve noticed how much the bullpen has gacked up dazzling starts recently. They needed an 8th inning guy and now we don’t have to watch Stanek, Voth, or Snider blow yet another lead. And Santos is hurt again. Garcia has been terrific and Clase is at least two years away, if that. Fast as hell, but you can’t steal first.
I don’t argue the point about the bullpen but hand them one run leads everyday and unless your bullpen era is 0 your gonna blow a few. Hand them a 3 run lead you can afford some ERA. this doesn’t help them with the 3 run lead part.
guess you hadn’t noticed that the mariners play a lot of close games (great pitching, bad hitting). They’ve lost a few recently with 7th and 8th inning meltdowns. Gotta win those games and Garcia will help them do it. Clase will never be anything more than a fourth outfielder/pinch runner type and he’s certainly not the piece that other teams are gonna hold up deals for because they can no longer acquire him.
Great trade for Seattle and much needed. Now go get Vlad!
How do you get Vlad now? You just sent them your #10 prospect for 2 months of a reliever. What in the blue heck do you think the cost for Vlad just became?
Relax, the Jays are not trading Vladdy Jr at this trade deadline. Period.
It does seem like a heavy price for a rental RP, but time will reveal the true tale.
Are you not expecting to also play some postseason ball? Relievers dominate October. You got a great one in this trade.
Without some bats no we aren’t expecting October ball. Have you seen the lead we blew?
Geeze. As a Blue Jay fan, I understand the frustration of a team that doesn’t score and abuses its pitching staff. But watching it, Garcia is a guy I can’t imagine doing without in that environment. Plus, you got a bat yesterday and reports are that Jerry is aggressively pursuing others. It’s not like Clase was going to headline a trade for Rooker or Robert or whoever you want. You have a bunch of guys in Clase’s tier of prospect and higher you can still use in other trades.
Seeing a lot of Seattle fans disappointed with this. What are you seeing in Clase and Sharp that is different from any of the public prospect scouting reports? One 40 FV prospect with 30/35 hit tool and another guy who as far as I can tell doesn’t project to be anything more than an org guy doesn’t sound steep for one of the best relievers on the market. Are the scouts missing something in their assessment?
Clase is the only minor leaguer since 1961 to go 20/70. The only one. Not a scouts assessment but real stats on the field. That’s enough for me to hate sending him out for a rental arm.
Do you think he has any shot of that as a major leaguer? Most scouting reports are skeptical that he will hit enough to be a major leaguer. And he’s already rostered and next year will be his last option year so the clock is ticking pretty loudly on him to make that developmental leap.
I don’t know if he can do that in the show. Neither do you. I know he did it against talent equal to his development. Reading the future is above my pay grade. I know 20 innings of 8th inning pitching isn’t worth your 10th ranked prospect. He’s a great reliever happy to have him but anyone who thinks this moves the needle has deadline fever.
One thing you said that I’ll check you on. Garcia isn’t an 8th inning guy. The Mariners don’t deploy guys in inning roles do they? I thought they were really good at bullpen usage. If they deploy Garcia that way, it still won’t be a bad trade but it will be a waste of Garcia.
He’s been deployed in Toronto almost strictly against the pocket of best hitters in the opposing lineup in any of the leverage innings. It’s not a game leverage usage. Simply the best 3 or 4 hitters in a lineup usage. Often mid inning with runners on. He’s got great stuff, poise, and a starter’s arsenal that allows you to match him up against the best.
Just what the Jays need…another non-hitter…
The M’s have been forced to do this very thing with Munoz, leading to 5 out saves and unavailability for the next two games. This is where Yimi can fit.
Muñoz is very good. And has been used in 7th 8th or 9th as situation requires it. If Garcia and Santos are both firing on all cylinders, backing up the rotation that pitches the most innings in the majors, other teams will struggle to outscore even the M’s offense.
oh you’re a stats guy, eh. But clearly you haven’t seen Clase play. Can’t steal first base! Good numbers in the minors, but those big SB numbers came in low A and Rookie ball.
Can’t steal first? That’s really a thoughtless evaluation. Not personal to you I’ve seen several people say it. You’re insinuating he doesn’t get on base with that comment. Of course he can’t steal first but he didn’t get 79 steals from the dugout either did he? Last i checked you do in fact need to be on base to steal one unless you’re Lou Pinella and literally steal second off the field lol. This is what i see when i see Clase a pro
Hitting 9th
Gets 500 at bats
Hits .250 (not sexy but he can get there)
Walks I dunno 35 times totally random no clue what his walk proclivity is
So that’s 125 hits and 35 walks
160 potential attempts. Obviously not stealing on all that but absolutely 160 pitchers thinking he might. Advantage hitter the pitchers attention is split. If he does runner on second with your best hitters up. Chance to score a run on a single cause he fast AF
That’s absolutely the role I see for him and I have to say that’s worth more than a rental reliever. A very good rental reliever I get it but if he walks in the offseason you have up Clase for 20 innings tops. Clase won’t be an all star but he can have a long major league career.
Lastly and say it with me folks
What doesn’t slump?
Yep still speed.
I think it’s more the fact that Seattle’s hitting has been a massive disappointment, and they’re concerned. They probably wanted those pieces going to the Jays to head toward a trade involving hitters. Seattle is slipping and I can see why they might not like the trade.
Yimi has been really good this year. Last year he wasn’t. Have to wonder if that is also a factor.
Garcia was a rental but one of the better RP on the trade market. Odd Atkins sold today instead of the deadline. He must really like Clase. We dont know what else was available to say if it was a bad trade or not for Atkins as we dont know what other offers were out there.
Mariners making Padres moves.
Atkins blows it again. As said above by other commenters Clase is a lottery ticket that won’t cash in. He can run and has power but unlike Teo, Clase’s hit tool is plain awful as is his defense. Clase is Derek Fisher 2.0.
Terrible trade. But What can you expect from these Jay’s executives?
Fire Atkins, fire Click, fire Tony Lacava and move Shapiro to business only. Hire Derek Jeter and let him build.
Two lottery tickets for a rental arm is called the MLB trade deadline. You thought two months of a reliever would bring back sure fire major league talent? Adjust your expectations. The Jays are about to trade a bunch of rentals for lottery tickets.
There are good lottery tickets and bad ones. Jays professional scouting is amongst the worst in the league. It is not necessary to get back “sure fire major league ready talent”. They could have gone lower to AA prospects that are far better than Clase. If the Jays had any good scouting they wouldn’t have made this deal. As said before Clase is Derek Fisher 2.0, which I called correctly at that time too.
Agreed…terrible trade. Current farm teams couldn’t fill the holes in the Jay’s lineup. So why add more farm hands that can’t hit at a major league expectation. At least faster runner than vogelbach…but just a lottery ticket in exchange for someone who could contribute . The Jays front office should have been developing this type of player through the system.
I just don’t value Garcia like Jay’s fans do. I suppose other MLB teams didn’t either. I would assume they took the best offer they could get. If you know of better offers that they turned down, then that is something else. Like I said, I think that is what the market pays for a 34-year-old reliever on an expiring contract.
Trade deadline isn’t today. This incompetent FO needs to not panic.
“Someone who could contribute”. He has been contributing to a last place record! Get what you can when you can. They can always resign him this winter if you can’t live without a 34-year-old Yimi Garcia. This season is over for the Jays.
Last place is because the rest of the team doesn’t score runs. Yes…the season was over weeks ago.
Yes. If it was Garcia’s fault the team was in last place, then he would have less trade value. As other teams start to make moves, you might find out that there are no “better deals” for Garcia and you get stuck with him because you didn’t want to panic. I’m really surprised at the reactions to this deal. It is a very typical type of deal for a mid-tier reliever on a last place team that is 34 and has two months left on his contract?????
Jays fans are crusty these days. Last off season saw the FO get played by Otani’s agent. Then fail to balance the team with other type signings that bloated the payroll. It’s been years of incompetence, that’s getting old. E.g vogelbach occupied a roster spot but never played on the field…
Jeter?? seriously? Miami wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire when he was there. did he make them better… maybe a little, but not enough to move the needle.
I know your general feelings about mattingly (underwhelmed i do believe), but, didn’t Jeter and his time in Miami overlap?
Wow, the Marlins get two solid pieces for Puk. A MLB contender is happy to get Yimi Garcia in what may be an overpay. And Tanner Scott is going to get the Marlins more than both.
Am I in the Twilight Zone?
The trade is terrible for Toronto. Clase is not a good player in MLB. There is no overpay here. The Jays wiffed bigtime.
I just don’t know what you think a 34-year-old reliever on an expiring contract should fetch. You thought the Mariners were going to send George Kirby?
They could’ve sent Julio Rodriguez back & jimmertee would find a reason to complain. He hates the Jays front office.
Perhaps another team not based in Seattle would have proposed some player that had at least some promise of sticking on a mlb roster….
Holy smoke! Perhaps. Perhaps this return is the most the market is willing to pay for (for the tenth time) a 34-year-old mid-tier reliever on an expiring contract. You didn’t trade Babe Ruth to the Yankees for cash! Be glad Garcia got you anything. You should have accepted a fresh bag of baseballs and a hot dog!
Please keep your comments professional and on the issue not on insulting other commenters. Thank you.
Says the long-time grandma’s-basement-dweller who claims to have been a “scout”. (It’s true: he did lots of camping as a teen and earned a merit badge for trolling.)
I like the trade. I’m not impressed with Clase, and I didn’t see a place for him down the road. Thumbs up from me!
is it just me or does clase seem like a player in the Billy Hamilton mold? Great wheels, but not the best at actually getting on base?
Damn Robert Jr going to Seattle too?
A for Seattle. Elite reliever as cheap as I could envision.
C for Toronto. Not impressed. They got a fair return. Both are nice prospects. Flaws. Work to be done. Value is fine. I’ve seen better returns though. They fell in love with Clase and think there’s much more improvement to come. It’s possible.
Here’s what I don’t get. Mariners have arguably the best farm system in baseball. I don’t think anyone would argue top 3. He’s the 10th rated prospect in arguably the best farm system. The same people complaining about him how’s your farm system and how would he rate? If you’re Boston or Toronto or Anaheim and he’s the #4 prospect he’s now untouchable but he’s the same dude he is at number 10 here. Rated by people whose job it is to do it not a bunch of 54 foot throwing curveballs like us.
Disclaimer: I’m not statistically analyzing the farm systems of Boston or Toronto or Anaheim they’re just an example I’m using theoretically. I wish nothing but god speed to all farm systems
Looks like he is being slotted in as the Jays nr 7 prospect. Not sure what they are going to do with him, but I think he should be sent to AA or AAA and work on his swing, fielding and SB mechanics. Maybe a call up in September if things are going well. Might need to spend 25 in the minors as well. Lots of things open up in 26 and if he develops even a little bit he will have a spot on the big-league team then.
Ranking is a terrible way to evaluate the prospect. He’s given a 40 FV by Fangraphs. 45 by pipeline. Most systems have a whole bunch of guys in that tier. There’s not much difference in quality between them. # 10 -#25 could arguably be ordered any which way with the right subjective preferences. If your #9 prospect is in the next tier up, your #10 is closer in quality to your #25 than your #10.
Here’s the other thing that has a big effect on his value and a determination to use him in trade instead of any of your other 40 FV prospects. He’s been on your roster for 2 years already. Because international signees are so young, they are rule 5 eligible so young. I’m not sure what the calculation was at the time, but they added him to the roster after his age 20 season that was okay but not eye popping at single A to start the development clock ticking. He was on the 40 man younger than the college players typically drafted who then have 4years of development runway before needing to take up a roster spot. His hit tool is probably where a 22 year old’s hit tool should be. But his roster status isn’t. He’s not looking on time by what I can tell from the scouting reports. And even though there is some ceiling to tap into and he might eventually, he was probably going to need to do it with another organization eventually because while he could be a fifth or even fourth OF in the majors, that’s not going to help his hit tool advance. He’d have to be a full time major leaguer by ‘26 which is probably fine on a non-contending team but the Mariners will have the majority of players that are good now still in ‘26 that will help them win 54% of their games and keep them in contention where a guy like this won’t have the runway to stick in the organization and reach his ceiling. I’m not saying that’s a foregone conclusion, but at some point you have to evaluate the trajectory and he needs to accelerate his. His prospect grades took a step back from last year’s reports too, so he has been sliding while others have been on the rise.
You say in the Jays’ system he’d be untouchable but they gave up more than this package by public scouting grades for Jordan Hicks last year. It’s the going rate.
Just so I’m clear rankings are a terrible way to evaluate a prospect but Future Value is where it’s at? Make that make sense you’re literally attempting to predict the future in lieu of present day on field work
Yes, you described that dynamic yourself when you said that in another system he’d be ranked higher and therefore be untouchable. Make that make sense in my head. He’s the same player today as he was yesterday. His ranking in a system doesn’t change his industry value. He was ranked 14th by FG (easiest chart format to read quickly) in Seattle pre season with a 40 FV grade. Seattle had 11 players on that list in that tier from Ryan Bliss at #13 all the way to Jimmy Joyce at #23. All of those guys in that tier are roughly equivalent. They all have different shapes of course but all have some strengths and some limitations. Clase is number 14 but in the same tier as your number 23. At number 12, there is a half a tier up. It’s a different tier. So Clase is closer in value to your number 23 prospect than your number 12 even though the ranking of 14 is closer to 12 than 23.
40 FV prospects generally have something in their profile that is going to limit their ability to impact a big league roster in a meaningful way. They might be able to overcome those challenges. Like you said, predicting the future is hard but there are many people employed in the industry to do that and the general picture we get from the feedback from those people is that Clase is a 40 FV guy. Those types are going to be flung around at the deadline because they aren’t seen as cornerstones of your future but they have a chance to be major leaguers and there is a fair bit of room for one organization to value the carrying tools more than another and be okay with the weaknesses.
54% I see what you did there.
Couldn’t resist.
Shocked we didn’t outbid Cubs for Paredes
I know. I saw two different reports that we were not interested in Paredes. If true, why not? Maybe we have a big move coming, I am still hoping for Ryan McMahon from the Rockies at 3b, Vlad Jr from the Jays at 1b or Rooker from the A’s, and reliever Tanner Scott but if not, how about two smaller moves? Lamonte Wade from the Giants and Rengifo from the Angels. Both wold help.