Pineda for Montero a good trade

SEATTLE — Is trading Michael Pineda to the New York Yankees, which the Mariners reportedly agreed to do on Friday, a risky idea for the Mariners? Absolutely.

But for a franchise that has become synonymous with not hitting, the move that will bring young slugger Jesus Montero to Seattle is also the right thing to do.

Yes, Pineda has all the makings of a future ace. Yes, he was good enough to make the All-Star game as a rookie. Yet for a team that is pitching rich and offensively bankrupt (poor just didn’t seem like strong enough of a word there), acquiring a young hitter with the potential of Montero is a risk worth taking — even if it means parting with Pineda.

The Mariners have been an above average pitching team by just about any measure the past two years. Yet they have finished last in the American League West both years, stumbling to a collective 128-196 record.

The biggest reason for their descent to the cellar? It’s an offense that has been downright, well, offensive to watch. The Mariners have finished dead last in Major League Baseball in runs scored, batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage in each of the past two seasons.

Not last in the American league, mind you, last in all of baseball, which includes the 16 National League teams that don’t have the benefit of employing a designated hitter. In the previous 20 seasons, an American League team finished last in runs scored only five times, and no team, regardless of league, held that dubious mark in back-to-back seasons.

Which is where Montero figures into equation. The 22-year-old from Venezuela has shown tremendous potential at every level since signing with the Yankees organization in 2006. As a late-season call up last year, he batted .328 with four home runs and 12 RBI in 18 games.

We don’t know how Montero will turn out for the Mariners, just like we don’t know for certain if Pineda will continue to grow and become an ace for years to come, and that is part of what makes this trade so interesting.

The majority of headline-grabbing trades these days are driven by finances. A team that is out of contention at midseason might move a star for prospects who could help down the road. A small-market team might trade its best player before his final season knowing it can’t afford to re-sign him when free agency rolls around.

Montero for Pineda — plus the other smaller pieces reportedly involved in the trade — is a rare move that both teams made to get better. The Yankees have bats galore, but a shaky rotation that will improve considerably with Pineda in the mix. The Mariners, meanwhile, desperately needed offense, and as much as they would love to keep Pineda, they do have a bunch of talented arms that are close to being Major League ready, including last year’s No. 2 overall pick Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker and James Paxton.

There are questions about where Montero will play.

He is listed as a catcher, but spent most of his time with the Yankees as a designated hitter. Even if Montero’s catching skills aren’t great, would he really be that much worse than Miguel Olivo, who has led the league in passed balls in three of the past five seasons and has been in the top five for errors committed by a catcher in six of the past nine seasons?

Wherever Montero plays, the value of a big bat is hard to overstate for this franchise. Nothing is certain, but with Montero, Dustin Ackley, and Justin Smoak, the Mariners at least have some young bats with big upsides. Does that make them contenders this season? Hardly. But it does at least mean there is some hope in the near future with or without Prince Fielder, who has yet to pick a team.

Felix Hernandez and Pineda would have been a fun one-two punch to watch at Safeco Field for another decade, and letting a budding star like Pineda go is a risky move. But for a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs in a decade, and that has redefined offensive futility in recent years, the status quo wouldn’t cut it.

Rolling the dice to acquire a bat like Montero is a risk worth taking.

Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com.