SEATTLE — Having determined their fate this season with a 17-game July losing streak that dragged them from contention, the Seattle Mariners continued to make trades for the future Sunday.
Depleting their starting rotation a second straight day, the Mariners traded veteran left-hander Erik B
edard to the Boston Red Sox in a three-team deal that was finalized just minutes before baseball’s 1 p.m. PDT non-waiver trade deadline. They also traded minor-league relief pitcher Josh Fields, their first-round draft pick in 2008, to the Red Sox.
The Mariners acquired two 23-year-old minor-league outfielders, Trayvon Robinson from the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chih-Hsien Chiang from the Red Sox. The Dodgers received three minor-leaguers from the Red Sox — catcher Tim Federowicz, right-handed starter Stephen Fife and right-handed reliever Juan Rodriguez. Fife is a former Everett Community College pitcher.
The Mariners made three trades in a three-day period, including deals that cost them two key pitchers from their starting rotation — Bedard and Doug Fister, who was traded to the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.
All together, the trades sent five players to other teams and brought six back to the hitting-needy Mariners. Five of the six are position players and two have brief major-league experience.
General manager Jack Zduriencik knows the remaining two months this season could be difficult.
“I hope our fans understand that there are sacrifices to be made and it’s possible that our pitching staff is not as good with the two guys we just moved,” Zduriencik said. “But, to get six players in return, it’s about today but it’s also about where we’re headed. It’s about accumulating talent.”
The Mariners changed significantly, both in the big leagues and minors, during a three-day period.
n They traded minor-league outfielder Ryan Langerhans on Friday to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for cash considerations. That move cleared a roster spot for recently signed minor-league slugger Wily Mo Pena, who’s at Class AAA Tacoma but is likely to play with the Mariners before the end of the season.
n They designated struggling DH Jack Cust for assignment on Friday.
n Saturday, they traded Fister and reliever David Pauley to the Tigers, getting four players in return — outfielder Casper Wells and left-handed pitcher Charles Furbush, who both played Sunday, along with highly regarded minor-league third baseman Francisco Hernandez and a player to be named later.
n Sunday, they sent Bedard and Fields to the Red Sox and received two 23-year-old outfielders, Chiang from Boston and Robinson from Los Angeles.
“It does put a little wrinkle into our pitching staff,” Zduriencik said. “But you have to look at everything in the big picture, and we got two offensive guys who our people like a lot.”
The Red Sox had pursued A’s pitcher Rich Harden but backed away after being concerned with his medical reports. That brought Bedard into play, and discussions with the Mariners became intense throughout the morning Sunday.
The trade was made minutes before the start of Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, and Bedard wasn’t in the Mariners’ clubhouse afterward.
He was the Mariners’ scheduled starter Wednesday against the A’s, and Zduriencik said the team probably would call up a pitcher from Tacoma for that game. The Mariners plan to use Furbush as a starter, although he needs time to build his arm strength after the Tigers used him as a reliever much of the past month.
“We may have to sacrifice right now, to give up two months of Erik Bedard, for two more players who are going to be with us for a long period of time,” Zduriencik said.
Chiang, playing at Class AA Portland (Maine), led the Eastern League in seven offensive categories — a .340 average, 76 RBI, 37 doubles, .648 slugging percentage, 59 extra-base hits, 68 runs and a .402 on-base percentage.
Robinson, at Class AAA Albuquerque, batted .293 with 26 home runs, 71 RBI, a .375 on-base percentage and a .563 slugging percentage.
“The power surge has been impressive,” Zduriencik said of Robinson. “He has potential to be a big-league player. Should he reach that potential, he could be a nice big-league player.”
Zduriencik said the Mariners had pursued Chiang for weeks, but that Robinson was a player who became part of discussions only Sunday morning.
“We discussed it and he (Robinson) was the guy we settled on,” Zduriencik said. “Boston was able to go to L.A. and make a trade there, allowing him to come to us. It was a couple of minutes before the trading deadline when we said ‘yes.'”
Bedard has a one-year, $1 million contract that the Red Sox will assume, but he also has performance incentives that, if reached, could pay him an additional $6.35 million. Zduriencik said the Mariners and Red Sox will share the incentive payment.
“Some of it we’re obligated to, some of it the Red Sox are obligated to,” he said.
At this point in the season, Zduriencik’s biggest obligation is to build the Mariners for the future. The weekend trades added Wells, Chiang and Robinson to a group of young outfielders that already includes four others who’ve bounced between Tacoma and the big leagues — Mike Carp, Carlos Peguero, Greg Halman and Michael Saunders. With such a bump in their outfield depth, the Mariners also added pieces they may use for offseason trades.
“In the past couple of years, we haven’t had the depth,” Zduriencik said. “We’ve brought up young kids, but you’d like to get to the point where it carries us forward and we’re going to be really competitive.
“That’s where we’re at. It’s not easy, but that’s the decision we made.”
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