The Mariners and Twins have decided to make one of the bigger trades of the offseason. Seattle announced the acquisition of the second baseman Jorge Polanco for four players: relievers Justin TopaStarter Anthony DeSclafani and perspectives Gabriel González And Darren Bowenas well as cash considerations. The Mariners are reportedly budgeting $8 million to cover two-thirds of DeSclafani's $12 million salary for the upcoming campaign.
Seattle and Minnesota have long seemed suitable for such a move on paper. The M's didn't get much out of their second basemen last season. Prelude to opening day Kolten Wong was released in the middle of the year. landing Josh Rojas in the deadline that was sent Paul Sewald to the D-Backs helped to some extent, but the position still appeared to be a weakness early in the offseason.
The M's further thinned the infield with a trade that sent the third baseman Eugenio Suarez to Arizona. Seattle brought in an undrafted candidate Luis Urias in a deal with the Red Sox to add a contact-oriented hitter to the mix. While Rojas and Urías could split their time between second and third base, counting on either player as starters would have been risky.
This gives Seattle one of the best attacking midfielders on the trade market. The switch-hitting Polanco has posted above-average numbers at the plate in four of the last five seasons. Since the start of the 2019 campaign, he owns a .267/.337/.458 slash line in nearly 2,400 plate appearances. Knee and hamstring problems bothered him early last season, but when healthy he put in a typically solid performance. Polanco hit 14 home runs in 80 games and posted a .255/.335/.454 line in 343 appearances.
That steady production made it easy for the Twins to exercise a $10.5 million option on his contract. This is a price that is below the market price for a quality regular dish. But even as Minnesota exercised the option, there was widespread belief that he could be in for a move this offseason. The Twins have an enviable collection of infield talent that has already threatened to displace the 30-year-old Polanco from his natural position.
While Polanco was on the injured list, he was 24 years old Edouard Julien pushed his way to the second base job. As a rookie, he hit .263/.381/.459, earning a spot at the top of Rocco Baldelli's lineup. The Twins gave Polanco 103 innings at third base upon his return, his first action at the hot corner since 2016. With former first overall pick Royce Lewis If he develops into a star down the stretch and in the postseason, that wouldn't have been a path to regular playing time in the future.
Minnesota could have used Polanco at second base and used Julien as the designated hitter. That would have limited their flexibility to push other players through the DH spot while potentially putting one of Minnesota's more talented young hitters in a bat-only role. Polanco had some experience as a shortstop early in his career, but left that position due to defensive deficiencies and clearly had no intention of starting over Carlos Correa. Minnesota also awarded arbitration contracts to utility infielders Kyle Farmer And Nick Gordon. Jose Miranda remains available as an option at corners while previously the No. 8 overall pick Brooks Lee could make his MLB debut in 2024.
It certainly wasn't an easy decision for the front office to move on from one of its longest-tenured players. Polanco had been with the organization since he was signed as a 16-year-old in 2009. He reached the major leagues before his 21st birthday and established himself as a regular player in 2016. Polanco received an All-Star nomination and fewer MVP votes in 1919 and played a key role on four playoff teams.
However, the depth of the infield made a trade quite possible. Minnesota's pitching staff has been impacted by free agent departures Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda And Tyler Mahle. The Twins had done very little to balance the roster, citing salary shortages related to their expiring local broadcast contract. Minnesota was willing to seek offers for its infield surplus, although president of baseball operations Derek Falvey made it clear that they would seek MLB help as part of this return.
Seattle was willing to part with both two top players and at least one of their best minor league talent to complete the deal. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times writes that the M's plan to use Polanco as their primary second baseman. That could lead to the left-handed-hitting Rojas and the right-handed-swinging Urías splitting time at third base. The M's could keep Polanco at the helm for two years. They assume this year's salary of $10.5 million and have a $12 million option for 2025 that comes with a $750,000 buyout. If Polanco performs at the level the Mariners envision, they would likely pursue this option.
To accomplish this, the Mariners are giving up some of their pitching depth. Topa has lower name recognition of the two MLB players heading to Minneapolis, but is the more attractive trade asset. The right-hander was a key part of another excellent Seattle bullpen a year ago. Last winter, he was acquired by the Brewers for a minor league outfielder in a seemingly minor deal and had a career year.
Topa, who made 17 MLB appearances before the start of the season, pitched 75 times for the M's a year ago. He worked to a 2.61 ERA over 69 innings. Topa's strikeout rate of 21.9% was slightly below average, but he did an excellent job keeping the ball on the ground. Working with a 95 MPH drag body and two chocks in his cutter and slider, he produced worm burners at a very strong 56.7% clip. His production increasingly gained the trust of manager Scott Servais. By the end of the year, he had recorded 23 holds and three saves.
If Topa can maintain this type of production, he would be an asset to the Minnesota Relief Corps. There is some risk with the 6’4″ hurler. Topa will turn 33 before Opening Day and has a long injury history. During his time in Milwaukee, he had two Tommy John procedures and flexor tendon surgery, which was a major reason he didn't see extended MLB action until last year.
While on the injured list, he racked up a decent amount of service time, surpassing the three-year mark a year ago. Seattle and Topa agreed to a salary of $1.25 million to avoid arbitration. He will go through this process two more times and will not reach free agency until after the 2026 campaign. Topa still has two minor league options, so the Twins could send him to Triple-A if he unexpectedly struggles.
DeSclafani spent less than a month as a member of the Mariners. Seattle acquired the right side Mitch Haniger in commercial shipping Robbie Ray to the Giants shortly after New Year's. His involvement in both professions is largely motivated by financial reasons.
The 33-year-old (34 in April) is expected to make $12 million in the final season of the three-year free agent contract he signed with San Francisco. The Giants will pay half of that and send $6 million to Seattle as part of the Ray trade. Seattle shifts that $6 million to Minnesota and adds another $2 million. The Twins are responsible for the final $4 million of the deal.
It's been a tough few years for DeScalfani, who was limited to five starts in 2022 before undergoing season-ending ankle surgery. Injuries were also an issue last year. This time, a flexor strain in his throwing arm ended his season at the end of July.
Before the arm injury, he had pitched 19 times and logged 99 2/3 innings. The nine-year veteran posted a 4.88 ERA with a below-average strikeout percentage of 18.9%. He outscored less than 5% of opponents, but has dropped a few notches in his strikeout and groundball numbers since his excellent 2021 season, when he posted a 3.17 ERA in 31 starts.
The Mariners should use DeSclafani as a long-term backup player. Minnesota could give him a chance to compete for fifth place in the season-opening tournament. The twins have Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober And Chris Paddack in the first four places. DeSclafani and right-hander Louie Varland are the top options for the final rotation order. Whoever starts the season in the substitution position could move into the rotation due to injury.
Gonzalez, who turned 20 this month, won't be contributing at the MLB level any time soon. From Minnesota's perspective, he's still arguably the headliner of the deal. The right-handed hitting outfielder signed with Seattle for $1.3 million from Venezuela in the 2021-22 international season. Baseball America recently ranked him No. 5 in the M system, while MLB Pipeline ranks him No. 79 overall minor league talent.
Reviewers praise Gonzalez's natural ability with the bat. These were on display in Low-A, where he hit .348/.403/.530 with a modest 13.7% strikeout rate in 335 plate appearances last year. However, Baseball America notes that Gonzalez has an extremely aggressive offensive approach, which was evident when he was promoted to High-A midseason. He struggled with a .215/.290/.387 batting average while posting a 21.5% clip in 200 plate appearances at the level. Gonzalez completed less than 7% of his plate appearances at both stops. As a below-average athlete performing as a cornerback-outfielder, he will need to improve his plate discipline to reach his potential.
Bowen, 22, was a 13th-round draftee in the 2022 draft. A product of UNC-Pembroke, he posted a 3.88 ERA over 55 2/3 innings in his first pro season in Low-A. The 6-foot-1 right-hander was ranked as Seattle's No. 25 prospect by BA. The outlet credits him with low-to-mid 90s velocity and a potentially above-average breaking pitch. Bowen is praised for his athleticism, but currently has below-average control, as evidenced by a 10.9% walk rate in the minors.
Acquiring Polanco's contract will increase Seattle's salary obligations into the range of $135 million, as calculated by Roster Resource, depending on how much of DeSclafani's contract they retain. They opened around $137 million last season. Jerry Dipoto, president of baseball operations, indicated early in the winter that Seattle would exceed last season's spending and was now nearing that mark. Minnesota's salary estimate drops to around $119 million, giving them some room to add to the roster in the next few weeks.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com It was first reported that the two sides would complete a trade with Polanco to Seattle. ESPN's Jeff Passan confirmed that an agreement had been reached. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported that the Twins would be signing four players, two of whom were major players. Robert Murray from FanSided reported Topaz's recording while The Athletic's Dan Hayes had the involvement of DeSclafani and Gonzalez. ESPN's Kiley McDaniel reported that the twins received Bowen and the presence of cash in return, which Rosenthal The people listed were from Seattle. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reported that the Mariners paid more than $6 million in cash. Hayes and Rosenthal said the M's included $8 million in cash.
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