It must be Monday night, because the Mariners have been busy. And no, the trades the Mariners made this week, sending Brandon League to the Dodger and Steve Delabar to Toronto, were not nearly as splashy as when they traded Ichiro Suzuki to the Yankees last Monday, but they’re news nonetheless on the eve of baseball’s trade deadline.
The Mariners got outfielder Eric Thames from the Blue Jays for Delabar. That’s not bad value—Thames, 25, put up decent number last season in 95 games with Toronto, and has been hitting very well in AAA this season—for a reliever with a 4.17 ERA.
The trade of League was widely expected. Seattle is out of contention, he’s a free agent after this season, and given that he lost his job as a closer, there’s a decent chance some team will give him a shot to be a closer again in free agency. For League, the Mariners received outfielder Leon Landry and right-handed pitcher Logan Bawcom.
If those Mariners trades weren’t enough, the Blue Jays also traded former Jackson High star Travis Snider to Pittsburgh during the game, leading to his being pulled mid-game
And oh-by-the-way, lost in this trading frenzy was the fact that the Mariners . Iwakuma established a Mariners rookie record by striking out 13 in his eight innings of work, and after yielding a leadoff homer, he gave up only three more hits and did not allow another run.
Below are the press releases on both trades, which include numbers and more info on the players the Mariners acquired:
MARINERS ACQUIRE OF LEON LANDRY AND RHP LOGAN BAWCOM FROM LOS ANGELES DODGERS IN EXCHANGE FOR RHP BRANDON LEAGUE
SEATTLE, Wash. — Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President &General Manager Jack Zduriencik announced tonight the club has acquired outfielder Leon Landry and right-handed pitcher Logan Bawcom (bah-cuhm) from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Brandon League.
Landry, 22, was batting .328 (113×345) with 26 doubles, 15 triples, 8 home runs and 51 RBI in 80 games for Rancho Cucamonga (High-A) entering Monday. He has played both center field (46 G) and left field (35 G) this season. He currently leads all of minor league baseball with 15 triples, and is tied for the California League lead with 49 extra base hits (T19th in MiLB). He also ranks amongst Cal League leaders in doubles (T3rd), 4th in slugging (.559), 4th in total bases (193) and 5th in batting average (.328).
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound left-handed swinger was originally selected by the Dodgers in the 3rd round of the 2010 June Draft. In three minor league seasons he has combined to bat .297 (325×1094) with 113 extra base hits (2B – 67, 3B – 30, HR – 16). The native of Baton Rouge, La, played three seasons at LSU from 2008-2010.
Bawcom, 23, has combined to go 4-4 with 20 saves, a 2.03 ERA (11 ER, 48.2 IP) and 11.09 K/9.0 IP (60 SO) in 39 relief appearances with Rancho Cucamonga (High-A) and Chattanooga (AA) this season (entering Monday). Bawcom is one of only 9 pitchers in the Minor Leagues to record at least 20 saves, and is T5th in the Southern League with 13 saves. Overall he has limited opponents to a .196 batting average (34×173), and allowed only one home run. Since June 26, he is 1-0 with 6 saves and a 0.60 ERA (1 ER, 15.0 IP) in 11 games with the Lookouts, lowering his Southern League ERA from 4.12 to 2.60.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound right-handed reliever was originally selected by the Dodgers in the 17th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft. In three minor league seasons he is 12-8 with 49 saves and a 2.96 ERA (47 ER, 143.0 IP) in 107 relief appearances. The native of Midland, Texas, played one season at UT Arlington (2010) and two seasons at Midland Junior College.
League, 29, is 0-5 with 9 saves and a 3.69 ERA (18 ER, 44.2 IP) in 46 relief appearances this season. He ranks T12th amongst American League relievers with 46 appearances and T16th in innings pitched (44.2). He combined for a 2.70 ERA (5 ER, 16.2 IP) over his final 18 appearances with the Mariners, with 4 of the 5 runs allowed coming July 28-29 vs. the Royals. He made 114 appearances for the Mariners from 2010-12, and ranks tied for 8th in club history with 54 saves. League recorded 37 saves in 2011 (T4th-most in club history) and was named an American League All-Star.
MARINERS ACQUIRE OF ERIC THAMES FROM TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Thames acquired in exchange for right-handed pitcher Steve Delabar.
SEATTLE, Wash. — Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President &General Manager Jack Zduriencik announced tonight that the club has acquired outfielder Eric Thames from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for right-handed relief pitcher Steve Delabar.
Thames, 25, was hitting .335 (65×194) with 31 runs, 15 doubles, 3 triples, 6 home runs and 32 RBI in 53 games with AAA Las Vegas (entering Monday) in the Pacific Coast League. Over parts of the last two seasons in AAA has combined to hit .344 (139×404) with 69 runs, 40 doubles, 7 triples, 13 home runs and 77 RBI in 106 games (entering Monday).
He made his Major League debut with Toronto in 2011, hitting .262 (95×362) with 24 doubles, 5 triples, 12 home runs and 37 RBI in 95 games (entering Monday). In parts of two seasons in the Majors has combined to hit .257 (131×510) with 31 doubles, 6 triples, 15 home runs and 48 RBI in 141 games. In his Major League career, he has played in 95 games (89 starts) in left field and 27 games (25 starts) in right field.
Thames was teammates with Dustin Ackley on the 2010 Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League. He was originally selected by Toronto in the 7th round of the 2008 amateur draft out of Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA).
Delabar, 29, appeared in 34 games during four stints with the Mariners going 2-1, 4.17 ERA (17 ER, 36.2 IP) with 46 strikeouts and nine home runs allowed. He ranked 8th amongst AL rookie relievers in appearances. With AAA Tacoma this season was 0-1, 3.75 ERA (5 ER, 12.0 IP) with 12 strikeouts in nine appearances. Delabar was signed as a minor league free agent on April 20, 2011 after not pitching in 2010. He pitched two seasons in the independent leagues (2008-09) after spending five seasons in the San Diego Padres organization. The Padres selected him in the 29th round of the 2003 June Draft.
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