Do The Mariners Really Want Dayan Viciedo?

Sep 24, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago White Sox left fielder

(24) celebrates his solo home run in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Rumors have been swirling that the Seattle Mariners have had trade discussions involving outfielder Dayan Viciedo of the Chicago White Sox.

For the sake of the Mariners, and for the sake of my sanity, I hope this trade doesn’t happen.

Viciedo is 24 and has been playing Major League baseball games for the White Sox since 2010. In 2012 and 2013 he played in 147 and 124 games, respectively.

The reason it seems the Mariners may be interested in Viciedo is because he is a power hitter who is far from patient at the plate but can be defined as a ‘slugger’ per se. Even though he is not that great of a slugger.

Honest to God a trade like this would be disastrous for the Mariners. It would likely cost Michael Saunders and over at Southside Showdown (the White Sox Fansided page) they’re pulling to get Stephen Pryor in any sort of deal. My thoughts: hell no.

Just food for thought, I am going to give you two players, A and B, and then let you decide which you would rather have.

Player A:

Games Played: 124. Triple-slash: .265/.304/.426. 14 HR. 56 RBI. 98 Strikeouts. 24 BB. And bad defensively.

Player B:

Games Played: 131. Triple-slash: .238/.334/.412. 20 HR. 50 RBI. 119 Strikeouts. 64 BB. Above average defense.

Now from a power stand point these two are fairly similar, though Player A has quite a few fewer home runs, though a few more RBI. Player B’s average is roughly thirty points lower, but he makes up for it in OBP because he walked 64 times where player A walked only 24 times compared to 98 strikeouts. That’s a terrible ratio.

Looking at Player A and Player B, which would you rather have?

If you answered Player A, it’s time to trade for Dayan Viciedo. If you want Player B, look no further than the Mariners’ own Justin Smoak. If both of them seem pretty bleh to you, I agree.

Now I know they don’t make for  a perfect comparison because they play wildly different positions, but you get where I am coming from. Viciedo would provide nothing new for the Mariners. It would be more of the same old. You can’t even call him a proven slugger, because in 2012 he hit 25 dingers then fell off to 14 last seasons. The M’s don’t need to be trading a Saunders or a Pryor for 14 home runs and 56 RBI. That would be a waste of guys that still do have potential.

More than anything else, Viciedo would play like Michael Morse did last year for the Mariners, though maybe with less injuries. He would swing at everything, strikeout way too much, and cost the team runs and outs on defense.

I would rather put Logan Morrison in left field everyday; or even better, leave it to Dustin Ackley cause he looks ready to make some noise this season.

But please, Please, PLEASE do not go after Viciedo. I understand they are just rumors, but in all realistic universes how would Viciedo help this team in such a way that it’s worth trading away guys who still have a decent amount of upside?

Dayan Viciedo would provide little to the Mariners, especially since we would be giving up defense and potential and patience at the plate for him.

Let us know what you think in the comments! Should the Mariners entertain the idea of trading for Viciedo?

I would say look to Sodo Mojo for any trade developments, but I am not going to because I don’t want there to be any developments in these particular trade talks.

Happy Monday, and enjoy yet another day of split squad action for the M’s at Spring Training.