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Taylor Trammell

Mariners Open To Adding Another Outfielder

By Anthony Franco | November 23, 2022 at 12:13pm CDT

The Mariners have already taken steps to reshuffle their outfield in the offseason’s early going. They landed two-time Silver Slugger award winner Teoscar Hernández from the Blue Jays for high-leverage reliever Erik Swanson and pitching prospect Adam Macko, then shipped out former Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis for catcher/outfielder Cooper Hummel.

More changes could be on the horizon, as president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto informed reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times) the team was open to bringing in another outfielder. The Seattle baseball ops leader unsurprisingly didn’t tip his hand as to specific targets but suggested the club was content to wait things out and identify the right fit.

“We do have more than one target,” Dipoto told reporters. “There are a handful of players that fit us that we feel good about especially as it pertains to outfielders. We feel like there’s still a market that is more robust. And if we’re just patient, we’re going to find the player that suits our roster the best.”

That doesn’t sound like a declaration the M’s are planning a run at top free agent Aaron Judge, and defending Rookie of the Year Julio Rodríguez reduces the urgency to go after center fielder Brandon Nimmo. The Mariners could theoretically pursue Nimmo with an eye towards pushing him to the corner opposite Hernández, but there are plenty of other teams with direct needs in center field. With the bidding for the former Met likely to push over nine figures (and cost the signing team a draft choice), the next tier down seems more plausible for Dipoto and his staff.

Among that group is Mitch Haniger, who’s a free agent after six seasons in Seattle. The M’s opted not to tag with him a qualifying offer at the start of the offseason, clearly unwilling to commit him a salary approaching $20MM for next year. A multi-year deal at a lower annual term still seems a possibility, and general manager Justin Hollander told Divish and others the club remains in contact with Haniger’s representatives at Apex Baseball.

Other free agent possibilities include Andrew Benintendi, Jurickson Profar, Cody Bellinger and Washington native Michael Conforto, who’s looking to reestablish himself as a middle-of-the-order caliber hitter after a season lost to shoulder surgery. Bellinger and Conforto figure to land shorter-term, bounceback deals while Benintendi and Profar are virtually certain to land multi-year commitments. Dipoto and his staff are among the most aggressive in scouring the trade market as well, and a number of corner bats could plausibly be discussed. Anthony Santander, Alex Verdugo, Max Kepler and Jake McCarthy are among the players who’ve been mentioned as at least speculative trade candidates this offseason. Bryan Reynolds and Randy Arozarena are less likely to move — particularly Reynolds, whom the Pirates have been reluctant to deal for years — but are sure to draw calls from other teams based on their multiple seasons of arbitration control and consistently strong performances.

The Mariners are firmly in win-now mode after a second straight 90-win season that snapped their 21-year playoff drought. Dipoto, Hollander and company have been and will continue to be aggressive in building around their excellent young core, but it’s worth noting they’re not devoid of in-house options who could play their way into a regular role alongside Hernández and Rodríguez.

Jarred Kelenic and Taylor Trammell haven’t found much success at the MLB level, but they’re each former top prospects who are still in their mid-20’s and coming off quality performances in Triple-A. Dipoto name-checked both players, as well as prospect Cade Marlowe, as internal candidates to take the next step. The M’s could entertain dealing Kelenic or Trammell for a lower-upside but more stable veteran bat as well, and Divish reports Seattle “shopped Kelenic extensively” at last summer’s trade deadline.

There’s also the presence of Jesse Winker, who was acquired last spring in the deal that saw Seattle assume the final three years of the Eugenio Suárez contract. Winker was the headliner of the trade from the M’s perspective, but Suárez surprisingly outperformed him in their first season in the Pacific Northwest. Under contract for $8.25MM in his final year of club control, Winker won’t have immense trade appeal coming off a .219/.344/.344 showing.

The M’s could elect to hold him and hope for better results, but they’ve reportedly floated his name early this offseason. Winker played dreadful defense in left field, and Divish has previously suggested Winker’s lack of improvement on that side of the ball played a role in him falling into some disfavor in the Seattle clubhouse. At his best, the left-handed hitter has shown he’s capable of impact offensive production against righty pitching, but the front office will have to decide whether pairing an outside addition with a change of scenery for Winker is a better fit heading into 2023.

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Seattle Mariners Cade Marlowe Jarred Kelenic Jesse Winker Mitch Haniger Taylor Trammell

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Mariners Place Jesse Winker On Injured List

By Darragh McDonald | October 5, 2022 at 2:25pm CDT

The Mariners have placed outfielder Jesse Winker on the 10-day injured list due to a neck issue, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter links). Fellow outfielder Taylor Trammell was recalled in a corresponding move. Shannon Drayer relays that Winker is likely done for the season but that Dylan Moore and Jarred Kelenic, both hit by pitches yesterday, should be okay. The Mariners subsequently announced the moves, describing Winker’s injury as a cervical disc bulge. His placement is retroactive to October 3.

It’s been a somewhat disappointing season for Winker, given that his results have fallen off from last year’s. However, he’s still been an above-average hitter for the season as a whole. With the Reds in 2021, Winker hit 24 home runs and produced a batting line of .305/.394/.556. That production was 47% better than league average by measure of wRC+. After coming to Seattle in an offseason trade, he’s hit 14 long balls and slashed .219/.344/.344. That’s obviously a big drop from last year but still good enough for a wRC+ of 109, or 9% above league average.

This IL placement is significant for a couple of reasons, including the timing. The M’s are about to begin the Wild Card series against the Blue Jays on Friday, the club’s first postseason appearance since 2001. Winker will now be officially unavailable for that series as well as a portion of the ALDS, should the Mariners survive that long.

There’s also the fact that the club’s outfield mix is banged up in a few other ways right now. The club also put Sam Haggerty on the IL yesterday, subtracting another useful member of the group. Julio Rodriguez just returned from his own IL stint due to back issues. As mentioned above, Kelenic and Moore were both hit by pitches last night and are sticking around, though it’s possible they may have some lingering soreness. That group, and Mitch Haniger, will now be joined by Trammell when the Mariners head to Toronto.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Jesse Winker Taylor Trammell

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Mariners Select Luis Torrens, Designate Jake Lamb

By Darragh McDonald | September 21, 2022 at 5:05pm CDT

The Mariners announced a series of roster moves today, recalling outfielder Jarred Kelenic and selecting the contract of catcher Luis Torrens. In corresponding moves, outfielder Taylor Trammell was optioned to Triple-A while infielder/outfielder Jake Lamb was designated for assignment.

Torrens, 26, had a strong season for Seattle last year but struggled to carry that forward into 2022. He was hitting .214/.262/.252 in August, producing a wRC+ of just 53. For a catcher with a bat-first reputation, that was clearly not cutting it, leading the club to designate him for assignment. Torrens cleared waivers and was outrighted but will now return to the club just over a month later to get another crack at things. The M’s already have a couple of catchers in Curt Casali and Cal Raleigh, though Raleigh has missed a few games this week due to thumb soreness. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times also adds that Casali is expected to go on paternity leave soon, compounding the need for some extra depth behind the plate.

Lamb, 31, began the year with the Dodgers but was traded to Seattle just prior to the deadline. He hit .239/.338/.433 for a wRC+ of 120 in Los Angeles but hasn’t been able to carry that up the coast with him. He’s hit just .167/.265/.300 since joining the Mariners, producing a wRC+ of 70. Due to that tepid showing, he’ll relinquish his roster spot to Torrens.

Of course, outside the 40-man roster implications, today’s moves also carry intrigue for Seattle given that they are swapping out a pair of young outfielders. Kelenic, 23, arrived with much fanfare in May of 2021 as one of the top prospects in the sport, but struggled in his first taste of MLB action. He’s been bounced on and off the club’s major league roster ever since but always scuffling in the bigs. Through 133 major league games so far, he has a batting line of .167/.246/.329 for a wRC+ of 63. He’s been on a heater in Triple-A this year, however, showcasing why he’s always been considered such an exciting young player. In 86 games for Tacoma this season, he’s hit 18 long balls and stolen nine bases, creating a batting line of .295/.365/.557 for a wRC+ of 123. Of course, he’s often hit well but then struggled after a major league promotion, but he’ll now get another chance to break that cycle.

The Mariners have been scuffling a bit lately but are still in good position to break their 21-year postseason drought. They are holding onto the final AL Wild Card spot at the moment, five games ahead of the Orioles with just two weeks left on the schedule. If Kelenic brings his hot bat up to the majors, he could both give the club a boost down the stretch and earn himself a spot on the playoff roster.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Jake Lamb Jarred Kelenic Luis Torrens Taylor Trammell

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Every Team’s Initial September Call-Ups

By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | September 1, 2022 at 10:59pm CDT

Each season as the calendar flips to September, we see a flurry of transactions around Major League Baseball. Active roster sizes jump from 26 to 28 for the season’s final month, with teams permitted to bring up no more than one additional pitcher. We’ve already covered a host of transactions with 40-man roster implications throughout the day at MLBTR. Here’s a full round-up of teams’ initial September roster moves.

American League West

Houston Astros:

  • Selected contract of RHP Hunter Brown
  • Selected contract of C Yainer Diaz
  • Corresponding moves: IF Niko Goodrum and RHP Peter Solomon designated for assignment

Los Angeles Angels:

  • Selected contract of OF Ryan Aguilar
  • Selected contract of RHP Zack Weiss
  • Corresponding moves: OF Steven Duggar and INF Jose Rojas designated for assignment

Oakland Athletics

  • Selected contract of LHP Ken Waldichuk from Triple-A Las vegas
  • Recalled OF Cody Thomas from Triple-A Las Vegas
  • Corresponding move: RHP David McKay designated for assignment

Seattle Mariners

  • Reinstated LHP Matthew Boyd from 60-day injured list
  • Recalled OF Taylor Trammell from Triple-A Tacoma
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Texas Rangers

  • Selected contract of RHP Jesus Tinoco from Triple-A Round Rock
  • Recalled OF Nick Solak from Triple-A Round Rock
  • Corresponding move: Transferred RHP Josh Sborz to 60-day injured list

American League Central

Chicago White Sox

  • Recalled OF Adam Haseley from Triple-A Charlotte
  • Recalled RHP Matt Foster from Triple-A Charlotte
  • Corresponding move: None required

Cleveland Guardians

  • Recalled SS Ernie Clement from Triple-A Columbus
  • Reinstated RHP Cody Morris from 60-day injured list
  • Corresponding move: Designated RHP Anthony Castro for assignment

Detroit Tigers

  • Recalled 1B Spencer Torkelson from Triple-A Toledo
  • Selected contract of INF Ryan Kreidler from Triple-A Toledo
  • Corresponding move: Transferred RHP Rony Garcia to 60-day injured list

Kansas City Royals

  • Selected contract of RHP Daniel Mengden from Triple-A Omaha
  • Recalled OF Nate Eaton from Triple-A Omaha
  • Corresponding move: None required

Minnesota Twins

  • Added LHP Austin Davis (previously claimed off waivers from Red Sox) to active roster
  • Selected contract of OF Billy Hamilton from Triple-A St. Paul
  • Corresponding move: Transferred OF Trevor Larnach to 60-day injured list

American League East

Baltimore Orioles

  • Selected contract of 1B Jesus Aguilar from Triple-A Norfolk
  • Recalled LHP DL Hall from Triple-A Norfolk
  • Corresponding move: Designated INF Richie Martin for assignment

Boston Red Sox

  • Recalled C Connor Wong from Triple-A Worcester
  • Selected contract of RHP Eduard Bazardo
  • Corresponding moves: None required

New York Yankees

  • Recalled SS Oswald Peraza from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
  • Activated INF Marwin Gonzalez from paternity list
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Tampa Bay Rays

  • Reinstated RHP Matt Wisler from the 15-day injured list
  • Recalled INF Jonathan Aranda from Triple-A Durham
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Toronto Blue Jays

  • Recalled RHP Casey Lawrence from Triple-A Buffalo
  • Added OF Bradley Zimmer (claimed off waivers from Phillies this week) to active roster
  • Corresponding moves: None required

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks

  • Selected contract of IF Wilmer Difo from Triple-A Reno
  • Reinstated RHP Keynan Middleton and LHP Kyle Nelson from 15-day injured list
  • Corresponding move: Designated RHP Noe Ramirez for assignment

Colorado Rockies

  • Recalled INF Alan Trejo from Triple-A Albuquerque
  • Recalled RHP Chad Smith from Triple-A Albuquerque
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Los Angeles Dodgers

  • Reinstated LHP Clayton Kershaw from 15-day injured list
  • Recalled 3B Miguel Vargas from Triple-A Oklahoma City
  • Corresponding moves: None required

San Diego Padres

  • Recalled INF Matt Beaty from Triple-A El Paso
  • Recalled RHP Reiss Knehr from Triple-A El Paso
  • Corresponding moves: None required

San Francisco Giants

  • Selected contract of recently-acquired OF Lewis Brinson
  • Recalled IF David Villar from Triple-A Sacramento
  • Corresponding move: Outrighted LHP Jonathan Bermudez to Triple-A Sacramento

National League Central

Chicago Cubs

  • Selected contract of RHP Jeremiah Estrada from Triple-A Iowa
  • Recalled INF David Bote from Triple-A Iowa
  • Corresponding move: Transferred Wade Miley from 15-day injured list to 60-day injured list

Cincinnati Reds

  • Selected contract of 2B/3B Spencer Steer
  • Selected contract of RHP Fernando Cruz
  • Corresponding moves: Transferred INF Mike Moustakas and RHP Jeff Hoffman from 10-day injured list to 60-day injured list

Milwaukee Brewers

  • Recalled RHP Luis Perdomo from Triple-A Nashville
  • Recalled OF Esteury Ruiz from Triple-A Nashville
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Pittsburgh Pirates

  • Recalled RHP Johan Oviedo from Triple-A Indianapolis
  • Recalled OF Calvin Mitchell from Triple-A Indianapolis
  • Corresponding moves: None required

St. Louis Cardinals

  • Selected contract of OF Ben DeLuzio from Triple-A Memphis
  • Recalled RHP James Naile from Triple-A Memphis
  • Corresponding moves: None required

National League East

Atlanta Braves

  • Reinstated IF Orlando Arcia from 10-day injured list
  • Added recently-claimed RHP Jesse Chavez to active roster
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Miami Marlins*

  • To recall OF Bryan De La Cruz
  • To recall RHP Jeff Brigham
  • Corresponding moves: None required

New York Mets

  • Selected contract of INF Deven Marrero from Triple-A Syracuse
  • Recalled RHP Adonis Medina from Triple-A Syracuse
  • Corresponding move: Designated RHP Connor Grey for assignment

Philadelphia Phillies

  • Selected contract of RHP Vinny Nittoli from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
  • Recalled C Donny Sands from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Washington Nationals

  • Recalled C Tres Barrera from Triple-A Rochester
  • Recalled RHP Mason Thompson from Triple-A Rochester
  • Corresponding moves: None required

*Marlins moves reported by Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link)

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Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Guardians Colorado Rockies Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Miami Marlins Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins New York Mets New York Yankees Oakland Athletics Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Washington Nationals Adam Haseley Alan Trejo Bradley Zimmer Bryan De La Cruz Cal Mitchell Casey Lawrence Chad Smith David Bote David Villar Donny Sands Ernie Clement Esteury Ruiz Jeff Brigham Jesse Chavez Johan Oviedo Jonathan Aranda Luis Perdomo Marwin Gonzalez Mason Thompson Matt Beaty Matt Boyd Matt Foster Matt Wisler Matthew Boyd Nate Eaton Orlando Arcia Reiss Knehr Rony Garcia Taylor Trammell Tres Barrera Vinny Nittoli Wade Miley

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Mariners Select Marcus Wilson

By Anthony Franco | June 29, 2022 at 1:35pm CDT

The Mariners announced they’ve selected outfielder Marcus Wilson onto the big league roster. He’ll replace Taylor Trammell, who lands on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. Seattle also optioned corner infielder Kevin Padlo to Triple-A Tacoma and recalled utilityman Sam Haggerty to add some defensive flexibility to the bench. In order to create a 40-man roster spot for Wilson, catcher Tom Murphy has been transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day IL.

Wilson, 25, would make his major league debut if he gets into a game. He’s spent time on a 40-man roster before, having been added to the Red Sox’s roster to keep him from being taken in the 2019 Rule 5 draft. Wilson spent a year and a half on optional assignment to the minor leagues before being designated for assignment by Boston at last summer’s trade deadline. Seattle grabbed him off waivers and kept him in Triple-A for the remainder of last season.

The California native struggled during his initial two months in the M’s organization, leading Seattle to take him off the 40-man at the end of last year. Wilson passed through waivers unclaimed and remained in the system, and he’s spent this season in Tacoma. Through 209 plate appearances, he owns a .209/.336/.469 line with 12 home runs and eight stolen bases. As he has for most of his minor league tenure, Wilson has shown some power, speed and excellent strike zone awareness to work walks at a nearly 15% clip. He’s paired those promising tools with alarming swing-and-miss concerns throughout his time in pro ball, though, and he’s again punched out in more than a third of his plate appearances with Tacoma this season.

Wilson has experience at all three outfield spots but has spent much of this season in right field. That’s where Trammell has suited up for much of the year, putting together a solid .235/.323/.457 showing over 32 games. Unfortunately, the 24-year-old went down with a hamstring strain during last night’s contest. It’s the second time that’s happened to Trammell, as he spent around six weeks on the minor league IL earlier this season with the same injury. Whether his current strain is as severe as the one he suffered in April isn’t clear, but he’ll at least need some time on the shelf.

The Mariners figure to rely on some combination of Justin Upton, Dylan Moore and Wilson to cover right field for the next few weeks. Opening Day right fielder Mitch Haniger has been out since late April after suffering a high ankle sprain. He’s recently begun baseball activities but has yet to embark on a minor league rehab assignment; Haniger has maintained he hopes to be back in the big leagues around the All-Star Break.

Seattle could’ve elected to recall Jarred Kelenic, who was optioned six weeks ago at the time the M’s brought Trammell up. Kelenic has responded with a strong .295/.340/.576 showing in Tacoma, but he’s struck out at an alarming 27.7% rate while only walking at a 5.7% clip. The organization clearly feels the 22-year-old would be better served with continued run against high minors pitching — he’d had only 30 career Triple-A games entering this season — rather than returning to the majors to hold down right field until Haniger is healthy.

Murphy, meanwhile, has been out of action since May 7 after dislocating his left shoulder attempting a tag at home plate. He later suffered a setback, and Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times relayed last week that he’ll require season-ending surgery. That makes today’s IL transfer nothing more than a formality.

It’s an obviously frustrating end to the year for Murphy, who only managed to appear in 14 games. The 31-year-old had performed very well in that limited stretch and looked as if he’d reemerged as a viable #1 option for the Mariners. Murphy had a stellar .273/.324/.535 showing while suiting up in just under half the team’s games in 2019, but he missed the entire following season after fracturing his left foot. Murphy returned last season but managed a less inspiring .202/.304/.350 showing through 325 trips to the plate.

Murphy’s efforts at a bounceback season are cut short by the shoulder issue. He’s playing this season on a $1.575MM salary after avoiding arbitration. The Mariners can keep him around via that process for a final time in 2023. Whether they’ll do so figures to depend on the long-term prognosis for his recovery. Murphy’s abbreviated season won’t earn him much of a raise relative to this year’s modest salary, but it’s possible Seattle looks for a new starting catcher next winter given his recent injury woes.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Marcus Wilson Mitch Haniger Taylor Trammell Tom Murphy

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Mariners Designate Steven Souza Jr., Select Sam Haggerty

By Darragh McDonald | May 22, 2022 at 11:27am CDT

The Mariners are making a series of roster moves today, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Infielder Abraham Toro is heading to the 10-day injured list. He had hurt himself in a collision with Adam Frazier during last night’s game. The club’s announcement of the moves describes his injury as a left shoulder sprain. Also leaving the roster is outfield Steven Souza Jr., who has been designated for assignment. To fill those two holes on the active roster, the club has recalled utility player Sam Haggerty and outfielder Taylor Trammell.

With the recent demotion of Jarred Kelenic and injury of Mitch Haniger, the Mariners turned to the veteran Souza as another outfield option. He had been off to a great start to the year in Triple-A, hitting .267/.417/.533 for a wRC+ of 140. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to carry that production into the big leagues, as he’s hit .158/.158/.158 over six games since his promotion. The club will now have a week to trade the 33-year-old or put him on waivers.

Taking his spot on the 40-man roster is the 27-year-old Haggerty. Over 59 career games between the Mets and Mariners, he has a batting line of .207/.265/.321, wRC+ of 66. Last year, he went on the IL in May with a shoulder injury and never returned. He was outrighted by the M’s at the end of the season after clearing waivers. He seems to have recuperated and gotten things back on track this year, as he’s hitting .304/.378/.512, 123 wRC+ through 32 Triple-A games so far. The club will now see if he can sustain that in the big leagues. He’s played exclusively at second base so far this year, though he’s previously spent time at third base, shortstop and all three outfield positions. He’ll likely fill the utility role that was previously filled by Toro, who had spent time at first, second and third base this year.

As for Trammell, he will be the club’s latest attempt to get some kind of production out of its corner outfielders. Julio Rodriguez has played well in center but hasn’t gotten much help from those on his flanks. Kelenic and Souza struggled enough to get demoted and designated for assignment, respectively, with Haniger only able to play nine games on the year so far. Jesse Winker has slumped to a line of .216/.310/.304, 89 wRC+ on the campaign. Dylan Moore has technically been above average with a wRC+ of 104, though in a very uneven fashion. He’s popped a couple homers and walked in 14.6% of his plate appearances, though he’s also struck out 27.1% of the time and is hitting .154.

Trammell suffered a hamstring strain in April and has been gradually working his way back to health, though he hasn’t even begun a rehab assignment before today’s recall, having been in extended Spring Training until now. He played 51 games last year and hit just .160/.256/.359, 73 wRC+, though his Triple-A numbers were much better.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Abraham Toro Sam Haggerty Steven Souza Taylor Trammell

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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 Activate Marco Gonzales, Recall Taylor Trammell, Place Kyle Lewis On 10-Day Injured List, Option Robert Dugger

By TC Zencka | June 1, 2021 at 3:09pm CDT

The Mariners announced a slew of impactful roster moves this afternoon, starting with the reigning Rookie of the Year in the American League Kyle Lewis going back on the injured list – this time with a right meniscus tear, per the team. Robert Dugger also departs; Seattle optioned the right-hander to Triple-A.

In good news, Marco Gonzales is re-joining the team from the injured list, as anticipated. He will start tonight’s ballgame for the Mariners. If the third-place M’s are going to make an unexpected run at relevancy this year, they’ll need Gonzales to be a force in the rotation. He has made five starts on the season with a 5.40 ERA/5.52 FIP.

As for Lewis, it’s not yet clear if the tear is significant, but he has had multiple procedures performed on that knee, notes Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. That’s certainly not ideal for a player like Lewis, whose athleticism is a key asset. He has appeared in just 36 of the Mariners’ 55 games this season, posting 0.7 bWAR and a 112 wRC+ in that time.

While losing Lewis definitely smarts, Mariners’ fans will have another young outfielder to tune in for: Taylor Trammell has been recalled after a successful stint in Triple-A. Trammell posted some highlights at the start of the season, but ultimately slumped to a .157/.255/.337 line in 95 plate appearances.

It’s easy to forget because he’s been traded twice, but Trammell remains a top prospect, and he’s still just 23 years old. Prior to this season, he had not played about Double-A, but he found himself on the opening day roster nevertheless. When he was optioned on May 13th, then, it was his first thwack at Triple-A, and he took it: .384/.413/.726 with six home runs in 80 plate appearances for the Tacoma Rainiers.

Finally, Dugger returns to the minors with a 6.06 ERA in eight appearances (two starts). A 4.83 FIP suggests Dugger has dealt with a touch of small-sample bad luck. The former Marlin has induced a 39.6 percent groundball rate with a 22.1 percent strikeout rate and 8.3 percent walk rate in 16 1/3 innings for Seattle’s parent club.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Kyle Lewis Marco Gonzales Robert Dugger Taylor Trammell

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Mariners Officially Promote Jarred Kelenic, Logan Gilbert

By Steve Adams | May 13, 2021 at 10:42am CDT

The Mariners have made it official: top prospects Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert have had their contracts selected to the Major League roster and will make their MLB debuts tonight against the Indians. Seattle has also selected the contract of right-hander Paul Sewald.

To make room on the 26-man roster for that trio, the Mariners have optioned outfielder Taylor Trammell, lefty Aaron Fletcher and righty Wyatt Mills to Tacoma. Additionally, Seattle designated outfielder Braden Bishop for assignment and transferred both Nick Margevicius and Ljay Newsome to the 60-day injured list to open spots on the 40-man roster. Margevicius, according to the team, has been diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. Newsome is weighing options for a UCL injury.

Jarred Kelenic | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The promotions of both Kelenic and Gilbert were reported to be taking place earlier in the week. Kelenic comes to the Majors as one of the game’s top overall prospects — a potential five-tool outfielder who was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2018 draft. Kelenic, in many ways, has become the face of the Mariners’ rebuilding effort. Not only is he the top-ranked prospect in a farm system that was rapidly turned from one of the game’s thinnest to one of the game’s best, but he was the centerpiece of the trade that saw the Jerry Dipoto-led front office trade away Robinson Cano — the signature addition of predecessor Jack Zduriencik.

Kelenic, who has yet to turn 22, had an even brighter spotlight cast upon him after now-former Mariners president Kevin Mather revealed during a recorded interview that Kelenic had turned down an extension offer and the club planned to call him up in late April. It was a clear nod to service time manipulation, one that prompted Kelenic and agent Brodie Scoffield to publicly state that the Mariners had made clear that he’d have been in the Majors last summer had he accepted their offer prior to the 2020 season.

As if that situation didn’t cast enough eyes on Kelenic, he quickly put on a display in Triple-A Tacoma that illustrated why he is so highly regarded within the industry. Kelenic homered twice in his Triple-A debut last week, and he’s gone on to bat .370/.414/.630 with a pair of steals in a total of 29 plate appearances in what the organization hopes will be the only Triple-A time he ever needs.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranks Kelenic as the No. 3 prospect in all of baseball, and Kelenic checks in as the game’s No. 4 overall prospect on the lists penned by Baseball America, MLB.com, Keith Law of The Athletic and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs. Scouting reports on him are rife with superlatives. BA calls him an “elite young hitter” who projects to be an “offensive force,” while FanGraphs touts him as a “lethal offensive threat” who’ll hit enough to be a star regardless of his defense — which nearly all suggest to be solid in the outfield corners, at least during his younger seasons.

For all of the focus on Kelenic, the also-touted Gilbert seems to get lost in the shuffle at times. Selected just eight picks after Kelenic in the first round of that 2018 draft, Gilbert tore through minor league lineups in 2019 and may well have been positioned for a call to the big leagues in 2020 had their been a full season. As with Kelenic, Mather said in that interview that Gilbert would be in the big leagues just a few weeks into the season.

Logan Gilbert | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Gilbert, who recently turned 24, racked up 135 innings across two Class-A levels and Double-A in 2019, pitching to a minuscule 2.13 ERA with a huge 31.7 percent strikeout rate against a tiny 6.3 percent walk rate. While he’s not ranked among the game’s five best prospects, none of the aforementioned prospect rankings have Gilbert listed any lower than No. 47 overall.

Both BA and MLB.com rank Gilbert as the game’s No. 28 farmhand, painting the 6’6″ 225-pound righty as a viable mid-rotation starter with the upside to develop into even more than that. He doesn’t have the triple-digit fastball we’ve practically come to expect from so many top pitching prospects, but Gilbert has a mid-90s heater with three average or better secondary offerings and, as Law writes, “some of the best command of anyone on this list.”

The organizational hope is that Gilbert steps up as a foundational piece in an increasingly promising young mix of starters. Ideally, recent first-rounders George Kirby and Emerson Hancock will join him over the next year or so.

The timing of those promotions remains to be seen, but with regard to both Kelenic and Gilbert, they’ll be controlled all the way through 2027 even if they never return to the minors. Both are now likely to be Super Two players — assuming they stick in the Majors and assuming Super Two designation survives the upcoming wave of collective bargaining talks. That would make both players arbitration-eligible four times rather than the standard three, with the first offseason of arb eligibility coming post-2023.

Seattle will also get its first look at the 30-year-old Sewald, a former Mets reliever who has spent parts of four seasons in the big leagues. He’s had some solid stretches out of the ’pen in Queens, but the overall body of work was lacking, as the righty owns a 5.50 ERA in 147 1/3 Major League innings. That said, he also has a career 3.01 ERA in parts of five Triple-A campaigns and had been absolutely lights-out so far in Tacoma, tossing 4 1/3 shutout frames with 10 strikeouts and no walks. It’s always possible that a change of scenery will unlock something, and this is indeed a change for Sewald, who’d spent his entire career prior to 2021 in the Mets organization.

Turning to the players who are being sent out, Trammell will now head to Tacoma and get regular at-bats as he looks to get on track. A well-regarded, top-100 prospect himself, the 23-year-old made the big league roster out of Spring Training but struggled in his initial look at MLB pitching. Through his first 95 trips to the plate, the former No. 35 overall pick (Reds, 2016) managed just a .157/.255/.337 output with a troubling 43 percent strikeout rate.

Trammell spent the 2020 season at the alternate sites for the Padres and Mariners — he was part of last summer’s Austin Nola trade — but hadn’t played in a game setting since 2019 and has never taken a plate appearance in Triple-A. With Kelenic, Kyle Lewis and Mitch Haniger now slated to make up the Mariners’ starting outfield, there weren’t going to be everyday at-bats for Trammell. Given his prospect status and his ceiling, the Mariners clearly want to make sure he’s getting everyday reps to build toward a future where he’s a vital piece of a dynamic outfield mix.

Bishop, meanwhile, now becomes a candidate to either be traded or passed through outright waivers, where any team can claim him. The 27-year-old hasn’t hit much in a small sample of 99 Major League plate appearances, but he does have a career .267/.355/.465 slash in Triple-A and is capable of playing all three outfield spots. He’s also optionable for the rest of the season, so a club with some depth issues in center field — e.g. the Phillies or Pirates — could have interest in taking a look either via waiver claim or a small trade.

As for Margevicius and Newsome, their diagnoses are obviously quite unfortunate. The Mariners initially placed Margevicius on the injured list with shoulder inflammation, but a thoracic outlet syndrome diagnosis is typically followed by an invasive surgery to remove a portion of the pitcher’s rib. TOS surgery has a much spottier track record of recovery for pitchers than Tommy John surgery, and if Margevicius ultimately goes under the knife, it’d quite likely end his 2021 season. Manager Scott Servais revealed last night that Tommy John surgery was on the table for the 24-year-old Newsome, so it’s hardly a surprise to see him moved to the 60-day IL with a confirmed diagnosis of a UCL injury.

All told, it’s a rather lengthy list of transactions for the Mariners — but one they hope will mark a watershed day in their organization’s history. It’s probably unfair to any prospect to view him as a potential organizational savior and tie the fate of a broad-reaching rebuild to his successes or failures, but right or wrong, those are the type of expectations fans will place on the likes of Kelenic and Gilbert. They’ll now join Lewis, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, on a roster that seems to skew younger and younger as the months tick by.

Should this youth movement bear fruit in the form of multiple productive young stars, the Mariners will look all the more formidable in the long run. Seattle has just $19.2MM in guaranteed salary on the books next year — including the $3.75MM they owe to the Mets as part of the Cano/Kelenic agreement — and that number drops to $14MM in 2023. Considering this is a club that has in the past trotted out a $158MM Opening Day payroll, the confluence of this group’s arrival and next year’s star-studded free-agent class offers Mariners fans the hope of finally reaching an oasis in desert of a playoff drought that now spans two decades.

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Newsstand Seattle Mariners Top Prospect Promotions Transactions Aaron Fletcher Braden Bishop Jarred Kelenic Ljay Newsome Logan Gilbert Nick Margevicius Paul Sewald Taylor Trammell Wyatt Mills

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Mariners To Select Taylor Trammell’s Contract

By Mark Polishuk | March 27, 2021 at 11:35pm CDT

The Mariners will include outfield prospect Taylor Trammell on their Opening Day roster, manager Scott Servais told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (all Twitter links) and other reporters.  Trammell hasn’t only just made the roster, but Servais that Trammell will be the starter in either left field or center field depending on the health of Kyle Lewis.  Another notable Seattle prospect in Justin Dunn has won the sixth starter job, Servais said, while Rule 5 Draft pick Will Vest has also made the team and will work out of the Mariners’ bullpen.

The 35th overall pick of the 2016 draft, Trammell is set to make his Major League debut after having already been part of two huge trades in his young professional career.  Trammell was originally drafted by the Reds, who sent him to the Padres as the only piece San Diego received in their end of the three-team blockbuster in July 2019 that saw Trevor Bauer go from Cleveland to Cincinnati, while such notables as Franmil Reyes, Logan Allen, and Yasiel Puig were part of the five-player package acquired by the Indians.  After a little more than a year in San Diego’s farm system, Trammell was on the move again, dealt with Ty France, Luis Torrens, and Andres Munoz to the Mariners for Austin Nola, Austin Adams, and Dan Altavilla.

It’s naturally unusual to see a top-100 prospect dealt twice in as many years before he even begins his MLB career, and it could speak to why Trammell has fallen closer to the back-end of minor league talent rankings over the last four years (he topped out at #11 for Baseball America and #16th for MLB.com, both prior to the 2019 season).  Trammell has hit a solid but unspectacular .270/.363/.406 over 1799 plate appearances in the minors, but only a .234/.340/.349 slash over 514 PA at Double-A.  According to MLB Pipeline’s scouting report, Trammell “got a little pull-happy in 2019, which led to more swing and miss, but he still drew a ton of walks and showed off premium bat speed.”

Trammell put in work to correct his swing at the Padres’ and Mariners’ alternate training sites in 2020, and clearly Seattle was impressed enough to allow Trammell to bypass Triple-A and directly suit up in the big leagues.  While Lewis’ injury was surely a factor in the Mariners’ decision, Trammell was already gaining a lot of buzz to make the team even prior to Lewis’ collision with the wall, and was seen as a potential starter in left field.  While scouts are mixed as to whether or not Trammell could be a long-term center field option, he can surely handle the position on a short-term basis while Lewis recovers.

The other interesting wrinkle to the Mariners’ decision is that if Trammell sticks on the active roster, he’ll gain enough service time to reach free agency after the 2026 season, whereas holding Trammell back for a few extra weeks would allow the M’s to get a seventh year of team control over his services.  Naturally, service time is a particularly contentious issue in Seattle in the wake of comments made by former president/CEO Kevin Mather during a rotary club speech, as he openly spoke about keeping such youngsters as Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert in the minors long enough this year to delay their service clocks.  Trammell was indirectly referenced by Mather as well, when he noted that though the Mariners had several of their top prospects working out at the alternate training site last season, “there was no chance you were going to see these young players at T-Mobile Park.  We weren’t going to put them on the 40-man roster, we weren’t going to start the service time clock.”

Dunn already has a year and 20 days of service time accumulated over two seasons and 52 1/3 innings for the Mariners, and the righty will now enter Seattle’s rotation for the second straight year.  A highly-touted prospect in his own right, Dunn and Kelenic were the prizes of the trade package received from the Mets in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz trade.  Dunn has a 4.13 ERA as a Major Leaguer, though with almost as many walks (31) as strikeouts (38), Dunn’s advanced metrics indicate that some good fortune went into that respectable ERA.

Vest was a 12th-round pick for the Tigers in the 2017 draft, and the left-hander has a 3.88 ERA and 25.6% strikeout rate over 132 1/3 innings in Detroit’s farm system, working exclusively as a reliever.  As per the provisions of the Rule 5 Draft, Vest must remain on the Mariners’ big league roster for the entire season in order for Seattle to permanently retain his rights; otherwise, the M’s must offer him back to the Tigers for $50K.

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Rule 5 Draft Seattle Mariners Top Prospect Promotions Transactions Justin Dunn Taylor Trammell Will Vest

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