NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As expected, the Mariners lost Triple-A Tacoma outfielder Jabari Blash in the major-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday.
Oakland selected Blash, 26, with the sixth overall pick and immediately traded him to San Diego as the player to be named later in a Dec. 2 trade.
Blash, a former Everett AquaSox, is a six-year pro who hit 32 homers last season in 116 games at Double-A Jackson (60) and Triple-A Tacoma (56). He also batted .271 with a .370 on-base percentage.
“A lot of inquiries about him,” said Tom Allison, the Mariners’ vice president of player personnel. “One of the things he brings to the table is his right-handed power against left-handed pitching.”
Players selected in the draft must be kept in the major leagues for the entire next season or be offered back to their former team for half of the $50,000 selection price.
Analytic decision
It was the Mariners’ analytics department that saw potential in right-handed reliever Isaac Sanchez, who was selected by Seattle in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday.
Sanchez, 23, spent the past six seasons in the Pittsburgh system but never reached Hi-A until last season, when he went 2-3 with a 2.71 ERA in 661/3 innings over 42 appearances.
“Issac was a guy who our analytics (people) really liked,” Allison said. “We think he adds some depth to the organization. He does profile more as a reliever for us, but we’ll see when we get him into the hands of our PD (player development) staff in spring training.”
Sanchez is 14-11 with a 3.66 ERA over 139 games in six minor-league seasons with 197 strikeouts and 107 walks in 2502/3 innings.
The Mariners weren’t eligible to make a selection in the major-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft because they had no openings on their 40-man roster.
Minor-league loses
The Mariners lost three players in the draft’s minor-league phase: left-hander Brian Moran to Cleveland, and right-hander Logan Bawcom and outfielder Julio Morban to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Moran, 27, spent most of last season at Double-A Jackson, where he was 2-1 with a 3.56 ERA in 25 games after missing all of 2014 while recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery.
Bawcom, 27, was 2-4 with two saves and a 4.64 ERA in 45 games at Tacoma.
Morban, 23, battled injuries last season and played just 48 games, splitting time at Tacoma and Jackson. He batted a combined .206 with one homer and 13 RBI.
Minor additions
The Mariners continued to add depth by signing infielder Benji Gonzalez and outfielder Mike Baxter to minor-league contracts that include invitations to big-league camp.
Baxter, 31, batted .246 last season in 34 games for the Chicago Cubs but spent most of the season at Triple-A Iowa. He has a .228 career average in 232 big-league games over parts of six seasons.
Gonzalez, 25, is an eight-year pro who has never played in the big leagues. He spent last year in the San Diego system, where he batted .271 in 72 games at four different levels.
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