- The Mariners talked with the Rays about a trade for Drew Smyly at the Winter Meetings, the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish reports. The M’s were known to be talking to the Rays about their pitching this winter, with Smyly mentioned as a better potential fit since the Mariners probably don’t have the prospect depth to land Chris Archer or Jake Odorizzi. Smyly posted solid but only decent numbers over 175 1/3 innings for Tampa last season, and with a projected $6.9MM arbitration figure, he has been often mentioned as a possible trade candidate for the payroll-conscious Rays.
Mariners Rumors
Mariners Sign Kyle Waldrop To Minors Deal
- The Mariners signed outfielder Kyle Waldrop to a minors contract. The longtime Reds farmhand became a free agent after a 2016 season that saw him outrighted off Cincinnati’s 40-man roster. Waldrop (a different player than the former Twins right-hander of the same name, for the record) appeared in 15 games for the Reds last season, mostly as a pinch-hitter or late-game sub. He has a .274/.320/.429 slash over 2698 PA in the Reds’ minor league system.
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Jerry Dipoto On Why He Prefers Trading To Free Agency
- Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto has made 32 trades in just 14 months on the job, and he explained to Greg Johns of MLB.com why he prefers that route to free agency. “With trades, you’re acquiring players that fit your roster,” Dipoto said. “It gives you the ability to fit a puzzle piece in with some degree of precision, because you identify the pieces and move forward. With free agents, you’re in the market competing with 29 other teams. You have to fit the puzzle piece, but also sell your team, stadium, manager, city, the money. Each step gets more complicated.” Given the Mariners’ desire to improve their rotation, not to mention reports connecting them to other teams’ starters, a 33rd Dipoto trade could be on the way. The GM also wants to pick up another reliever, but odds are that will come via free agency, per Johns.
Mariners Notes: Pomeranz, Smith, Smyly, Bautista
Some Mariners rumblings, in two separate pieces from Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune…
- Red Sox left-hander Drew Pomeranz is believed to be on the Mariners’ list of rotation trade targets. This presumes, of course, that Boston is actually willing to deal Pomeranz, as Dutton notes that the Sox “sent mixed messages” about the southpaw’s availability during the Winter Meetings. Pomeranz posted a 3.32 ERA, 9.8 K/9 and 2.86 K/BB rate over 170 2/3 innings with the Padres and Red Sox last season, though the bulk of his best work came in San Diego. This is just my speculation, but as Jon Heyman reported that the M’s were apparently quite close to dealing Seth Smith to Boston, perhaps Pomeranz was also a part of that proposed trade. (If that was the case, the two teams will have to go back the drawing board, as Boston has since signed Mitch Moreland to address their need for a left-handed bat.)
- Speaking of Smith, Dutton hears from a source that the Rays have shown interest in Smith in the past. The Mariners and Rays have been linked in trade talks this winter, with Seattle reportedly looking at Tampa’s available starting pitchers. Dutton suggests that Drew Smyly could be the likelier fit for the M’s, as the Rays would require a lesser return for Smyly than for Chris Archer or Jake Odorizzi. The Mariners and Rays are no strangers to each other, as Dutton notes that the two clubs have made two multi-player deals in the 15 months since Jerry Dipoto became Seattle’s general manager.
- There has been virtually no indication that the Mariners have any interest in signing Jose Bautista, Dutton reports. Bautista’s age, the draft pick compensation tied to his services via the qualifying offer, his injury-plagued 2016 season and subsequent drop in production have combined to create a rather unclear market for the veteran slugger. If Smith was traded for a pitcher, Dutton opines, a veteran bat like Bautista could become more of a possibility for the Mariners. Right now, the M’s are planning to use several inexperienced players (i.e. Ben Gamel, Dan Vogelbach, Mitch Haniger) in regular outfield or first base roles.
Mariners Could Have Another Edwin Diaz In Thyago Vieira
- After the Mariners promoted Edwin Diaz from Double-A Jackson to the majors last June, the electric 22-year-old burst on the big league scene and quickly became an elite reliever with his fastball-slider mix. The club might have another Diaz on its hands in relief prospect Thyago Vieira, who also relies on a fastball and slider, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times details. Vieira, who’s older than Diaz (24 next month), is capable of hitting 103 mph on the radar gun. “There can’t be many people in professional baseball with a better arm,” Mariners director of player development Andy McKay told Divish. “He throws enough strikes. I don’t think anyone would say there’s a ton of command, but there are plenty of strikes and the slider is hard to hit and really hard not to swing at.” Vieira spent most of 2016 at the High-A level and then pitched in the Arizona Fall League, but the Mariners nearly released him before the season. “In spring training, there was a question as to whether he was going to make a team or not based on his age and general performance history,” GM Jerry Dipoto revealed. Now, after working with minor league pitching coach Ethan Katz, Vieira is on Seattle’s 40-man roster and could debut in the majors in 2017. “I saw a big arm with a lot of potential that just needed a little more time to figure it out,” Katz stated. “There was some stuff that he was doing that needed to be fixed to help him succeed.” Vieira credits Katz for his breakout year. “I have to say thank you to the Mariners for giving me the opportunity to work with him,” Vieira said.
Arquimedes Caminero Released To Pursue Contract With Yomiuri Giants
DECEMBER 16: Seattle announced that Caminero has officially been released to pursue the opportunity in Japan.
DECEMBER 10: Mariners righty Arquimedes Caminero is close to a deal with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan, as noted by Yahoo! Japan (via Beyond The Box Score’s Kazuto Yamazaki and Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune, who notes that the Mariners have already agreed to sell Caminero’s contract).
The 29-year-old Caminero is out of options, and the Mariners’ decision suggests that they don’t foresee much of a future for him on a team with plenty of right-handed bullpen possibilities, even though he has four years of control remaining before free agency and has tantalizing velocity. Caminero throws harder than almost anyone — his 97.9-MPH average fastball velocity last year was faster than anyone except Aroldis Chapman’s.
Caminero has had persistent problems with walks, with 4.9 BB/9 last year. His 3.56 ERA last year between the Pirates and Mariners looks decent on the surface, but his peripheral numbers have generally been unimpressive, and he’s never been as dominant as his velocity would suggest, perhaps in part because he relies too heavily on his fastball. Through parts of four seasons in the big leagues with the Marlins and Pirates in addition to the Mariners, Caminero has a 3.83 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 155 innings.
Phillies Claim Richie Shaffer, Release Phil Klein To Pursue Asian Deal
The Phillies have claimed infielder/outfielder Richie Shaffer off waivers from the Mariners, per a club announcement. Additionally, the team announced that righty Phil Klein was released in order for him to sign a contract to play with an organization in Asia.
Philadelphia announced Shaffer as a third baseman, perhaps suggesting that’s where they see him being utilized — though, of course, that position will almost certainly be manned regularly by Maikel Franco. Shaffer can also play the corner outfield or first base.
The 25-year-old Shaffer, a former first-round pick, bounced from the Rays to the Mariners earlier this offseason. He was riding high after a big 2015 season in which he hit 30 total long balls between the upper minors and the majors (where he received his first, brief look). But he largely struggled in the campaign that just ended, posting a meager .227/.329/.367 batting line at the Triple-A level and earning only twenty games in the bigs. Those struggles made him expendable, but the Phils evidently see enough upside to take a chance with a 40-man spot — though the team could ultimately attempt to sneak him through waivers at some point.
Klein, 27, also landed in Philadelphia through a waiver claim — in his case, from the Rangers. He did not pitch particularly well in his four appearances late in 2016 for the Phils, and owns only a 5.50 ERA over his 55 2/3 total major league innings. But Klein has carried impressive strikeout numbers and posted dominant results in the upper minors, which surely lent to his appeal to ballclubs on the other side of the Pacific. It is not yet clear just where Klein is headed.
Padres Claim Zach Lee
The Padres have claimed righty Zach Lee off waivers from the Mariners, Seattle announced. He had recently been designated for assignment.
Once considered a top-100 prospect leaguewide, Lee’s star has waned in recent years. He was acquired last year from the Dodgers in the deal that sent infielder Chris Taylor to Los Angeles. Lee was originally taken in the back end of the first round of the 2010 draft, back when current San Diego front office man Logan White was running the Dodgers’ drafts, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune notes on Twitter.
[RELATED: Updated Padres Depth Chart]
Still just 25, Lee briefly reached the majors in 2015. But he fell well shy of earning a return in the ensuing campaign. Over his 148 Triple-A innings in 2016, Lee scuffled to a 6.14 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. Lee was torched for 193 hits in that span, including 22 long balls, but it seems that the Pads have reason to believe they can get him back on track.
Mariners Have Asked Rays, Reds About Starters
- The Mariners have been talking with both the Rays and the Reds about starters, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports on Twitter. Seattle has been said to be hunting for one more rotation piece, and it’s not surprising to see these two particular organizations mentioned. Tampa Bay, as noted, has long been expected to consider trading out of its staff; the M’s could conceivably have interest in just about any of the pitchers listed above. And while we haven’t heard much in the way of specifics from Cincinnati, it stands to reason that the club would at least weigh offers for pitchers such as Anthony DeSclafani and Dan Straily.
Mariners Outright Dean Kiekhefer
- The Mariners outrighted lefty Dean Kiekhefer, the club announced. He had recently been designated for assignment. A 22-inning MLB debut in 2016 didn’t go very well, as Kiekhefer pitched to a 5.32 ERA for the Cardinals, but he has posted sub-3.00 earned run averages in each of the past three seasons in the upper minors.
