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Jake Fraley

Reds Activate Jonathan India, Mike Moustakas

By Anthony Franco | June 13, 2022 at 8:18pm CDT

The Reds reinstated infielders Jonathan India and Mike Moustakas from the injured list and recalled southpaw Reiver Sanmartin before tonight’s game against the Diamondbacks. Corner outfielder Aristides Aquino is headed to the 10-day injured list due to a left calf strain, while infielders Colin Moran and Alejo López have been optioned to Triple-A Louisville.

India has been on the IL for the past six weeks due to a right hamstring issue. He’s been limited to just 11 games thus far, one of myriad reasons the Reds have a disappointing 21-39 record. The reigning National League Rookie of the Year, India is coming off an excellent .269/.376/.459 showing through 631 plate appearances. India had been targeting a return for the upcoming weekend series against the Brewers, but it seems he’s progressed a bit better than anticipated.

Moustakas, meanwhile, spent a week on the COVID-19 injured list. He also missed some time in April because of a biceps strain, but he’s played fairly regularly when healthy. The left-handed hitter is amidst a second straight underwhelming campaign, owner of a .200/.314/.308 slash with three home runs across 153 trips to the dish. India’s return could cut into the reps for Moustakas, as Brandon Drury figures to see more time at the hot corner with India manning the keystone.

While Moustakas was on the virus list, he hadn’t occupied a spot on the 40-man roster. Now that he’s been reinstated, the club needed to create a 40-man vacancy. They’ve done so by transferring outfielder Jake Fraley from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list, officially ruling him out through at least the end of June.

Fraley, acquired from the Mariners as part of the Jesse Winker deal in Spring Training, went on the IL on May 1 with right knee inflammation. He headed out on a minor league rehab assignment late last month but was shut down while battling a toe issue (via Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer). The left-handed hitting Fraley has been limited to 15 games with his new club thus far, hitting just .116/.208/.233.

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Cincinnati Reds Transactions Aristides Aquino Jake Fraley Jonathan India Mike Moustakas

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Reds Place Jake Fraley, Jonathan India On Injured List

By Darragh McDonald | May 1, 2022 at 1:05pm CDT

1:05 pm: In yet another injury blow for the Reds, second baseman Jonathan India is going on the injured list due to an injury to his right hamstring. The move is retroactive to April 30. Alejo Lopez has been recalled to take his place.

Last year’s National League Rookie of the Year, India has been off a bit of a slow start to the year, perhaps because of this hamstring issue, which first put him on the shelf April 16. His .295/.311/.341 line amounts to a wRC+ of 85, which is 37 points below last year’s mark. Matt Reynolds, playing second base today, could see more time with India out. Mike Moustakas could also play more third base, with Brandon Drury sliding over to the keystone.

Of course, Lopez could also figure into that mix, as he’s capable of both playing second and third base, as well as shortstop and left field. He’s off to a slow start in Triple-A this year, but hit .303/.386/.446 there last year, walking more than he struck out and putting up a 126 wRC+.

12:56 pm: The Reds announced to members of the media, including Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer, that outfielder Jake Fraley is headed to the injured list with right knee inflammation. Fellow outfielder TJ Friedl has been recalled to take his place.

This is yet another domino in what has been a very frustrating series of events for the fans of the Reds. In the offseason, a number of the club’s better players were shipped out as the club attempted to lower payroll. One such move was the deal that sent Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez to the Mariners, with four players coming back the other way, one of those being Fraley. Once the season began, a rash of injuries took a toll on the players who remained, with the club limping out to a 3-18 start to the season, easily the worst in the league.

Fraley had a solid season in Seattle last year but hasn’t played well since moving to Cincy, perhaps because of this knee issue. This isn’t something that just popped up suddenly, as he also missed a few games earlier in the season because of it. On the year, he’s hitting .116/.208/.233, but will now take some time to heal up and hopefully come back healthier and more productive.

The club’s outfield depth has also taken a hit with a couple of notable cuts, as both Shogo Akiyama and Aristides Aquino have been released this season. Friedl will slot into the outfield mix alongside Tommy Pham, Tyler Naquin, Nick Senzel and Matt Reynolds. Friedl hasn’t hit much in his MLB action thus far, though in a small sample of just 17 games. In 128 Triple-A games, however, he’s hit a decent .256/.356/.412.

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Cincinnati Reds Transactions Alejo Lopez Jake Fraley Jonathan India TJ Friedl

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Mariners Acquire Jesse Winker, Eugenio Suarez From Reds

By Anthony Franco | March 14, 2022 at 6:20pm CDT

The Mariners made a massive addition to their lineup, announcing the acquisition of star outfielder Jesse Winker and third baseman Eugenio Suárez from the Reds. Seattle will reportedly assume the entirety of the three years and $35MM remaining on Suárez’s contract. In return, they’re sending pitching prospect Brandon Williamson, outfielder Jake Fraley, right-hander Justin Dunn and a player to be named later to Cincinnati.

Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has been open about his hunt for offensive help throughout the winter. Seattle already signed reigning AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to a five-year contract, but they hadn’t previously done a whole lot to bolster the offense aside from a deal that brought in Adam Frazier from the Padres.

Winker got his due as a first-time All-Star last season, but he’s quietly been an excellent hitter for some time. He’s had a wRC+ of 127 or better (output at least 27 percentage points above the league average) in four of his five career seasons. The former supplemental first-rounder has been particularly impressive the past couple years. Going back to the start of the 2020 campaign, he owns a .292/.392/.552 line with 36 home runs over 668 plate appearances.

Last year, he tallied 485 trips to the dish and hit a personal-best .305/.394/.556 with a strong 10.9% walk rate and a 15.5% strikeout percentage that’s more than seven points lower than the league average. Winker rarely swings and misses or chases pitches outside the strike zone, and he’s capable of doing plenty of damage when he makes contact. He posted well above-average marks in terms of barrel rate, hard contact percentage and average exit velocity.

It’s easy to see the appeal for Seattle in adding that kind of offensive firepower to the lineup. Despite winning 90 games, the Mariners didn’t have an especially productive offense last year. Seattle hitters ranked just 21st in team wRC+ (excluding pitchers). They finished 22nd in total runs scored. Winker should be a massive boon to a unit that’ll need to improve if they’re to snap a 20-year playoff drought.

That said, Winker isn’t entirely without flaws. He’s limited to the corner outfield defensively, and he’s never rated favorably in the eyes of public metrics. Defensive Runs Saved has pegged him as 20 runs below average in 2,335 2/3 career innings in the corners (in addition to three runs below average in 138 innings as a center fielder). Statcast’s Outs Above Average has him at -21 plays as a big leaguer, including a -7 mark last season.

The left-handed hitting Winker also has some of the league’s most notable platoon splits. He’s been downright elite in his career against right-handed pitching (.313/.405/.556), but his numbers without the platoon advantage (.188/.305/.295) have been unimpressive. Winker’s probably not a strict platoon player — he does at least draw a boatload of walks against southpaws — but his impact has been concentrated to feasting on righties.

Perhaps of more concern than any aspect of his talent, though, has been his lack of volume. Winker has gone on the injured list in every full season of his MLB career. Heading into last season, the 28-year-old had never tallied even 400 plate appearances in a big league campaign. He picked up a personal-high in playing time last year, but he ended the season on the IL after suffering an intercostal strain in mid-August (from which he unsuccessfully tried to return in September).

That all makes Winker a tricky player to value, but there’s little question he’ll improve Seattle’s overall offense. He’ll presumably step in as the M’s regular left fielder, joining an outfield that could feature Jarred Kelenic in center and Mitch Haniger in right. Former Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis is coming off another serious knee injury, and Dipoto told reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times) he’s unlikely to be ready for the start of the season as they proceed with caution in his recovery. Former top prospect Taylor Trammell and utilityman Dylan Moore could be depth options behind the presumptive season-opening trio of Winker, Kelenic and Haniger. Julio Rodriguez, among the top handful of prospects in the game, mashed at Double-A at the end of last season.

Winker will probably be in the Pacific Northwest for at least the next two seasons. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $6.8MM salary via arbitration this year. He’ll be controllable via that process once more next winter before reaching free agency in advance of his age-30 season.

In order to entice the Reds to part with a player of Winker’s caliber, the M’s are taking on far more money than just his projected arbitration figures. Cincinnati signed Suárez to a $66MM extension in March 2018, which will pay him a bit more than $13MM annually for the next three seasons. (The deal also includes a $15MM club option for 2025). Initially, that looked to be a shrewd investment by the Cincinnati front office, as Suárez went on to earn down-ballot MVP support in each of the following two years. Yet after combining for a .277/.362/.550 line over that stretch, he’s struggled the past couple seasons.

Suárez hit .202/.312/.470 during the shortened 2020 campaign. That’s a ghastly batting average, but he offset it somewhat with a robust 13% walk rate and 15 homers in only 231 plate appearances. However, his issues at the plate mounted last year. His walk percentage dipped to a solid but no longer elite 9.8%, not sufficient to make up for an even lower .198 batting average. Suárez reached base at only a .286 clip — the sixth-lowest mark among the 135 players who totaled 500+ plate appearances. He still hit for power (31 homers), but the on-base issues and his inability to successfully acclimate to an ill-advised move from third base to shortstop kept his overall production in the realm of replacement level.

Clearly, the Mariners assumed Suárez’s deal as a means to acquire Winker. That said, it seems likely they’ll give him some opportunity to try and right the ship in his new environs. Seattle bought out longtime third baseman Kyle Seager at the end of the year. Abraham Toro looks like the in-house favorite for playing time at the hot corner, but Toro can bounce between the corners and second base as a bat-first utility option as well. Divish tweets that Suárez is likely to step in as the primary third baseman, at least to begin the year, with Toro deployed around the diamond as needed.

The acquisitions of Suárez and Winker will add around $20MM to the Mariners’ 2022 books. That puts this year’s estimated expenditures at $106MM, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That’s well above last year’s season-opening $73MM mark but nowhere close to franchise-record payrolls that exceeded $150MM from 2017-18. Precisely how much remains in the coffers isn’t clear, although it seems they’re content with the position player group. Dipoto told reporters (including Daniel Kramer of MLB.com) the club was unlikely to make further moves on that side of the ball. Seattle had been linked to big-ticket free agents like Kris Bryant and Trevor Story this offseason, but Dipoto called their pursuits of free agent hitters “dead ends.”

The Winker acquisition marked another aggressive move for a win-now Mariners team, but it’s a continuation of payroll-cutting efforts for the Reds. Cincinnati traded away Tucker Barnhart and lost Wade Miley on waivers for little to no return in November. They’ve listened to trade offers on their top three starting pitchers, and they moved Sonny Gray to the Twins for pitching prospect Chase Petty over the weekend.

This afternoon’s swap is the most notable to date, as the Reds slice around $20MM in 2022 commitments off the books. Of arguably greater import, they find a way out of the future commitments to Suárez. Only Joey Votto ($25MM) and Mike Moutakas ($18MM) have guaranteed money on the Cincinnati books in 2023, and the payroll slate is completely clean by 2024. Reds brass has pushed back against the idea they’re orchestrating a full teardown, but the recent subtractions of Winker and Gray make it more difficult for what had been an 83-79 team to contend this season.

Against that backdrop, it wouldn’t be surprising to see further subtractions by Cincinnati. Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle each have two more seasons of arbitration control, as Winker did. Both pitchers would bring back a haul if the Reds made them available, particularly with the free agent market essentially now bereft of mid-rotation options.

Even if the Reds have further moves on the horizon, however, the players they bring back should all factor into the mix in short order. Fraley and Dunn are immediate big leaguers, and Fraley seems likely to step right into the left field spot vacated by Winker’s departure. The left-handed hitter struggled in limited big league looks between 2019-20, but he showed reasonably well this past season.

Fraley picked up 265 plate appearances last year, hitting .210/.352/.369 with nine homers and ten steals. The batting average is obviously subpar, but the LSU product more than compensated with an elite 17.4% walk rate. Fraley’s extremely patient approach at the plate should make him a serviceable on-base option. He’s primarily been a left fielder in the big leagues, but he’s capable of covering center in a pinch. Fraley’s controllable through 2026 and isn’t on track to reach arbitration eligibility until 2024.

Dunn, meanwhile, is a former first-round pick who went to Seattle from the Mets in the Edwin Díaz/Robinson Canó trade. He’s made 25 starts over his three big league seasons, posting a 3.94 ERA in 102 2/3 innings. The 26-year-old’s peripherals don’t support that kind of run prevention; he’s benefitted from an unsustainable .205 opponents’ batting average on balls in play and has walked an untenable 15.5% of batters faced. Despite averaging a decent 93.8 MPH on his four-seam fastball last year, he only generated swinging strikes on 9.7% of his offerings (a bit below the 10.9% league mark for starters).

Like Fraley, Dunn is an affordable, MLB-ready piece though. He’s controllable through 2025 and won’t reach arbitration until next season. If the Reds do move one or both of Castillo and Mahle, Dunn could factor into the back of the rotation immediately. He might also be a candidate for a bullpen transfer — some prospect evaluators have long suggested he’d be a better fit in relief — where he could aid a Cincinnati bullpen that was among the league’s worst.

Fraley and Dunn are the more well-known parts of the return, but Williamson is quite likely the player the Reds value most of the trio. A second-round pick out of TCU in 2019, the southpaw has impressed evaluators since getting into pro ball. Baseball America ranked him as the game’s #83 overall prospect this winter (fifth in the Seattle system), noting that the 6’6″ lefty can run his fastball into the mid-90s and has a potential 70-grade curveball on the 20-80 scouting scale.

BA writes that the 23-year-old could develop into a #3/4 starter. FanGraphs slotted Williamson 61st on their recent Top 100 list, opining that control issues could limit his ability to work deep into games consistently but praising his repertoire and suggesting he could be “dominant” for five-six innings per start. Williamson pitched his way to Double-A last year, working 67 1/3 innings of 3.48 ERA ball with an excellent 33% strikeout rate and a fine 8.1% walk percentage. He seems likely to get a big league look at some point this season and may eventually work alongside college teammate Nick Lodolo in the Reds’ rotations of the future.

The Reds also pick up a player to be named later who is reportedly a notable part of the return. Moreover, general manager Nick Krall told reporters (including Mark Sheldon of MLB.com) they plan to reinvest some of the money they saved in free agency. Cincinnati fans may roll their eyes at their assertion, given the club’s cost-cutting efforts to date, but Krall reasserted that this was not going to be a multi-year teardown.

The deal offers a major shakeup to both organizations. The M’s continue to push forward in an effort to hang with the Astros (and perhaps the Angels) at the top of the AL West. The Reds’ hopes of contending were dealt another blow, but the front office continues to maintain they’re not punting on the 2022 campaign. Whether Cincinnati’s future moves back up that assertion remains to be seen, but there’ll be no shortage of demand if they turn their attention to trading away either Castillo or Mahle.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Mariners were acquiring Winker. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the Mariners were acquiring Suárez and that the Reds were acquiring Fraley, Williamson and Dunn. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that Seattle was taking on the entirety of Suárez’s contract. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported the Reds were acquiring a player to be named later who “enhances” the quality of their return.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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Cincinnati Reds Newsstand Seattle Mariners Transactions Brandon Williamson Eugenio Suarez Jake Fraley Jesse Winker Justin Dunn Kris Bryant Kyle Lewis Trevor Story

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Mariners Rumors: Chapman, Marte, Trammell, Rotation

By Steve Adams | January 25, 2022 at 11:26am CDT

The Mariners’ interest in division-rival third baseman (and noted trade candidate) Matt Chapman isn’t exactly a new revelation, but even as the Athletics prepare for what looks to be a significant sell-off/payroll reduction, they’re still aiming high in trade talks. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times cites multiple sources who believe the A’s would ask that the Mariners include top infield prospect Noelvi Marte as a headline piece in any deal involving Chapman, who is controlled another two years via arbitration.

Baseball America ranked Marte as the sport’s No. 18 prospect earlier this week, and it’s not hard to see why; Marte played the 2021 season as a 19-year-old against much older competition but nevertheless slashed a combined .273/.366/.460 with 17 home runs and 24 stolen bases between two Class-A levels. Drawing praise for his blend of raw power and speed, Marte has played exclusively at shortstop thus far in his pro career, though he’s been error-prone (6o in 1402 innings) and some scouting reports question whether he might eventually move to third base. The Athletics and other clubs would surely target him in a number of trade scenarios, but it seems unlikely Marte would actually change hands.

Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has already gone on record this offseason to indicate there’s “no scenario” where he’d move the very top names in his farm system. Marte trails uber-prospect Julio Rodriguez on most rankings, he certainly falls under the umbrella alluded to by Dipoto. The A’s could, of course, try to work out a deal centering on another headliner, but if Dipoto was being earnest in his reluctance to trade his system’s very best, an agreement could be hard to piece together.

Some more Mariners notes…

  • In a second piece, Divish looks at three Mariners whose long-term positions with the team aren’t assured: outfielder Taylor Trammell, catcher Luis Torrens and outfielder Jake Fraley. Despite Trammell’s status as a former high draft pick and top prospect, last season’s poor big league debut has dimmed his stock in the eyes of rival scouts. Divish cites one “optimistic” scout from another club who believes Trammell can still be more than a fourth outfielder — but others are more bearish based on his approach at the plate and some poor defensive reads. Similarly, while the Mariners believe Torrens can be a passable or better defender behind the plate, other teams are more skeptical of his glovework. Any of the trio would still have some value on the trade market, but probably not as headline pieces for notable upgrades. Mariners fans, in particular, will want to check out both Divish columns for some scouting quotes and opinions of several of Seattle’s young players.
  • In his latest mailbag column, The Athletic’s Corey Brock tackles a number of pertinent Mariners topics — including the team’s rotation. Brock suggests that Seattle, needing pitchers who can make an impact out of the gate, was never going to come close to matching the $10MM offer James Paxton received from the Red Sox. Still, the Mariners appear likely to target another arm to add to the rotation — ideally someone who’s more than just a fifth starter to round out the group. The free-agent market has, of course, been largely picked over by this point — with Seattle playing a key part in the pre-lockout signing rush (Robbie Ray). Carlos Rodon stands out as one potential difference-maker who remains in play, though he has not been prominently linked to the Mariners. The trade market figures to have plenty of options, with Cincinnati (Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Tyler Mahle) and Oakland (Frankie Montas, Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt) standing as the two most obvious partners for any team seeking rotation help on the trade market.
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Notes Oakland Athletics Seattle Mariners Jake Fraley James Paxton Luis Torrens Matt Chapman Taylor Trammell

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Mariners Outright Jose Marmolejos

By Anthony Franco | September 17, 2021 at 4:40pm CDT

SEPTEMBER 17: Marmolejos has cleared waivers and been outrighted back to Tacoma, the team announced Friday. He has the right to elect free agency because he’d previously been outrighted in his career, although the team offered no indication he’s planning to do so.

SEPTEMBER 14: The Mariners announced they’ve designated corner outfielder/first baseman José Marmolejos for assignment. Fellow outfielder Jake Fraley has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. Marmolejos’ designation also opens a spot on Seattle’s 40-man roster, which now sits at 39.

Marmolejos has already been designated once this season, losing his roster spot back in May after hitting just .139/.266/.278 in his first 94 plate appearances. The 28-year-old cleared outright waivers and was sent to Triple-A Tacoma. He put together an incredible few months with the Rainiers, popping 23 home runs in just 303 plate appearances and mashing at a .360/.452/.700 clip. That earned him another look with the big league club, as the M’s reselected Marmolejos a couple weeks back.

Seattle has given Marmolejos a few starts since he was called back up, but he again struggled in a very small sample of 28 plate appearances. With Fraley ready to return to assume his customary left field role, the front office evidently determined there was no space on the big league club for Marmolejos. Because he’s out of minor league option years, Marmolejos had to again be exposed to waivers to be bumped from the active roster.

While Marmolejos cleared waivers a few months ago, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see another club take a flier on him this time around thanks to his intervening demolishing of Triple-A pitching. Any claiming team would also have to keep the left-handed hitter on the active roster or place him back on waivers themselves.

Fraley has missed a little more than two weeks due to right shoulder inflammation. The 26-year-old got off to a great start to the season but had cooled off significantly before landing on the shelf. He’s still been a productive player overall, though, sporting a season line of .213/.359/.388. It’s an unsightly batting average, to be sure, but Fraley’s massive 18.2% walk rate has helped him post an OBP nearly forty points higher than the .321 league average (excluding pitchers).

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Jake Fraley Jose Marmolejos

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Mariners Place Jake Fraley, Anthony Misiewicz On 10-Day Injured List

By TC Zencka | August 28, 2021 at 2:38pm CDT

The Mariners made a handful of roster moves today. They placed Jake Fraley on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Anthony Misiewicz was also placed on the injured list because of a left forearm strain.

Fraley has made headway this season in making himself a big league outfielder, slashing .213/.359/.388 in 220 plate appearances, making his season thus far worth 1.5 rWAR. Misiewicz, meanwhile, has made 54 appearances covering 46 1/3 innings. He has a 4.08 ERA/3.32 FIP, 24.1 percent strikeout rate, 5.6 percent walk rate, and 44.9 percent groundball rate.

To fill their roster spots, Wyatt Mills was recalled from Triple-A, and Jimmy Yacabonis had his contract selected. To make room on the 40-man roster, Shed Long was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Long went on the injured list on July 30, so he’s very likely done for the year. Keynan Middleton was also outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma.

Yacabonis will make his first appearance in the bigs since last year when he made two appearances with the Mariners. For his career, he owns a 5.71 ERA/6.05 FIP across 104 innings, mostly with the Orioles from 2017 to 2019. The 29-year-old right-hander has been sharp in Triple-A this season, tossing 31 1/3 innings with a 1.74 ERA. He will provide the Mariners with some length out of the bullpen should they need it.

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Baltimore Orioles Seattle Mariners Transactions Anthony Misiewicz Jake Fraley Jimmy Yacabonis Keynan Middleton Shed Long Wyatt Mills

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Mariners Activate Jake Fraley, Claim Marcus Wilson Off Waivers

By Anthony Franco | August 2, 2021 at 2:39pm CDT

The Mariners announced a series of roster moves this afternoon. Outfielder Jake Fraley has been activated from the COVID-19 injured list, while fellow outfielder Marcus Wilson was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox and optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. In corresponding moves, infielder Shed Long landed on the 10-day injured list with a stress reaction in his right shin, while outfielder Dillon Thomas was designated for assignment.

Fraley tested positive for COVID on July 18, and he’s missed the past two weeks recuperating. Before that, the left-handed hitting outfielder was amidst a strong campaign. Fraley’s hitting .237/.409/.439 with seven home runs over 149 plate appearances. His returning to the field — and to that level of production — would be a critical boost for a Seattle team that finds itself 3.5 games back in the AL Wild Card race.

The Sox designated Wilson for assignment over the weekend to accommodate their trade deadline acquisitions. The 24-year-old has yet to make his big league debut but he’s been a prospect of some regard dating back to his time in the Diamondbacks organization. He has spent the year with Triple-A Worcester, hitting a strong .242/.370/.452 with ten homers across 265 trips to the plate, albeit with a concerning 33.2% strikeout rate. Wilson still has an additional minor league option year remaining beyond this season, so the M’s can move him between Seattle and Tacoma for the next year if he sticks on the 40-man roster.

The presence of a right shin injury is particularly concerning for Long, who suffered a stress fracture in the bone last year. That required surgery which kept him out of action until early June, and the area is again bothering him. Long has struggled between the injuries, hitting .198/.258/.360 in 34 games this season.

The roster shuffling costs Thomas his spot. The 28-year-old earned his first big league promotion in early June with a solid .273/.379/.458 performance at Tacoma. He’s only picked up nine plate appearances over four big league games, though, collecting one hit. Thomas will now find himself on outright waivers.

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Boston Red Sox Seattle Mariners Transactions Dillon Thomas Jake Fraley Marcus Wilson Shed Long

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Mariners Place Jake Fraley On COVID-19 IL

By Darragh McDonald | July 18, 2021 at 1:58pm CDT

Mariners outfielder Jake Fraley is going on the COVID-19 injured list, with fellow outfielder Dillon Thomas being recalled to take his place on the active roster. Manager Scott Servais revealed that Fraley has tested positive for COVID-19 and also has symptoms, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Servais said the majority of players with whom Fraley was in close contact have been vaccinated, so they’re hoping that will stop the virus from spreading further.

This is a very unfortunate development for what had previously been a breakout year for Fraley. He has thus far put up a line of .237/.409/.439, with a wRC+ of 143 and 1.1 fWAR. Now he will have to isolate for at least 10 days, per league protocols, and attempt to convalesce.

For Thomas, this will be his second stint with the team after a two-game cup of coffee last month. At Triple-A this year, he is slashing .260/.376/.429, good enough for a wRC+ of 103.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Dillon Thomas Jake Fraley

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Injured List Returns: Fraley, Lopes, Wahl

By Mark Polishuk | May 31, 2021 at 2:54pm CDT

As injury news continues to dominate baseball, here’s the latest on a few players who are returning to action…

  • The Mariners reinstated outfielder Jake Fraley from the 10-day injured list, with infielder Eric Campbell heading to Triple-A to make room for Fraley on the active roster.  Fraley has been on the IL since suffering a left hamstring strain while making a diving catch in Seattle’s 10-4 loss to the White Sox on April 6.  He has seen action at all three outfield positions during his 24-game MLB career, and he’ll provide the Mariners with some depth behind the regular outfield trio of Kyle Lewis, Mitch Haniger, and Jarred Kelenic.
  • The Brewers announced that utilityman Tim Lopes and right-hander Bobby Wahl were optioned to Triple-A after being reinstated from the 60-day IL.  Both players have been sidelined by oblique strains suffered during Spring Training.  Lopes is still looking to make his Brewers debut after being claimed off waivers from the Mariners back in December.  Wahl has appeared in parts of three MLB seasons with the A’s, Mets, and Brewers, tossing 2 1/3 innings for Milwaukee in 2020 after missing the entire 2019 campaign recovering from a torn ACL.
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Milwaukee Brewers Seattle Mariners Transactions Bobby Wahl Eric Campbell Jake Fraley Tim Lopes

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Mariners Place James Paxton, Jake Fraley On Injured List

By Steve Adams | April 7, 2021 at 12:35pm CDT

12:35pm: The Mariners announced that Paxton and Fraley have both been placed on the 10-day injured list. Paxton has been diagnosed with a left forearm strain, while the MRI confirmed a hamstring strain for Fraley. The Mariners recalled outfielder Braden Bishop and righty Ljay Newsome from their alternate training site to take their spots on the roster.

8:22am: James Paxton returned to the Mariners’ rotation last night after two years in the Bronx, but his start was cut short by another forearm injury, as he exited after just 1 1/3 innings. Outfielder Jake Fraley, meanwhile, left the game with what the team later announced as a hamstring strain after making a diving catch in left field. Both players will undergo an MRI this morning, manager Scott Servais told reporters after the game (via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times).

Paxton’s 2020 season with the Yankees was cut short by a forearm strain, so it’s obviously a concerning development for him to suffer this type of injury — particularly so early in the season. The lefty did tell Divish and others that the pain he’s feeling in his arm isn’t at the same level as it was when he sustained that injury last summer.

The Mariners brought Paxton back to the organization on a one-year, $8.5MM free agent deal over the winter. The 32-year-old had interest from several teams, as one would expect based on his track record of success, but he seemingly preferred to return to Seattle. Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto noted at the time of the signing that Paxton had been sharp in workouts for MLB teams and gave the club something of a “hometown discount.”

The reunion looked to be going well in Spring Training, where Paxton struck out half of the 34 batters he faced and allowed just one run during Cactus League play. For the time being, he struck an optimistic tone that the current issue could be muscular in nature and something from which he can quickly return.

As for Fraley, the 25-year-old is out to an unusual start to his 2021 season. He’s just 1-for-10 through five games, but he’s drawn eight walks and been hit by a pitch, leading to a bizarre .100/.500/.200 batting line through his first 19 plate appearances. Acquired from the Rays as part of the Mike Zunino trade, Fraley hasn’t hit much in two prior stints with the Mariners in 2019-20, but he only tallied 70 plate appearances during that time. He’s a career .286/.362/.480 hitter in the minors — including a .276/.333/.553 showing in 38 Triple-A games.

For the moment, however, it seems that an IL stint could be on the horizon, which will have the baseball world watching intently. The most straightforward move for the M’s would simply be to recall Braden Bishop from their alternate site, as he’s on the 40-man roster already, but Seattle also has top prospect Jarred Kelenic on the cusp of his first big league promotion as well.

Kelenic’s service time status was thrust into the national spotlight when now-former CEO Kevin Mather blatantly indicated in a Q&A with the Bellevue Rotary Club that the 21-year-old Kelenic had turned down an extension offer and wouldn’t be called to the Majors until mid-April (the general point at which the Mariners would gain an extra year of control over Kelenic). Kelenic missed some time in Spring Training with a minor knee injury, but he returned to the lineup and immediately went 3-for-6 with a double and a homer in two games before being reassigned to minor league camp, so the injury looks to be behind him.

It still seems likelier that the Mariners will turn to Bishop for the time being, as calling up Kelenic now would still give him enough time to accrue a full year of Major League service in 2021. That would no longer be the case as soon as next weekend, however.

Turning back to the pitching staff, the Mariners were already using a six-man rotation, so it’s likely they’ll simply shorten up to five starters for the time being and carry an extra reliever. The bullpen had to cover 7 2/3 innings last night and took a beating at the hands of the White Sox in the process, so Seattle would probably prefer to get a fresh arm into the relief mix anyhow.

It’s at least worth noting that as with the Fraley/Kelenic situation, the Mariners have a highly regarded pitching prospect who is near MLB readiness: 2018 first-rounder Logan Gilbert. While this comment didn’t draw as much attention as the Kelenic revelation, Mather indicated in that same interview that he expected Gilbert to be pitching in the Majors by mid-April (obviously, an allusion to his service time). Gilbert, however, only tossed a pair of innings in Spring Training before being reassigned to minor league camp, so he may not yet be built up to the point where he’s an option even in the event that Paxton is shelved for a notable period of time. If the Mariners want to stick with a six-man rotation and Paxton does miss some time, they could give a few starts to Ljay Newsome and/or Nick Margevicius. Before too long, however, Gilbert seems likely to emerge as an option at the big league level.

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Seattle Mariners Braden Bishop Jake Fraley James Paxton Jarred Kelenic Ljay Newsome Logan Gilbert

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