Jerry Dipoto never sleeps, and the M’s General Manager has picked up outfield prospect Andrew Aplin from the Houston Astros. In a corresponding roster move, the Mariners DFA’d starting pitcher Chris Heston.
The Mariners are taking an intriguing route in acquiring Aplin. He is a 26 year old outfielder who was selected in the fifth round of the 2012 Draft. He shot to AAA by age 23, but has stagnated there over the last three years. He was called up to the big leagues this year, but never made his debut. He was DFA’d by Houston to clear space for pitching depth, but then traded after clearing waivers.
This season in 30 games at Fresno, he’s hit .250 with an OPS of .720. He has some speed, but not much power as voiced by his 1:1 triple to homer ratio.
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The interesting thing about Aplin, he’s pitched 5 times this season. He has an ERA of 1.80 and a WHIP of 1.00. Who knows how Jerry Dipoto is going to use him, but the big league club has serious outfield depth so I doubt he was acquired for that reason.
As for Heston, he’s been a wreck in Seattle this year. He’s pitched twice and has a -0.6 WAR. In his 5.0 innings, he’s given up 11 runs, leading to a 19.80 ERA. I know the Mariners pitching has been a mess this year, but this takes the cake.
All in all, this is a good move for Seattle. Heston needed to be shown the way out, and Aplin can’t be as bad as Heston has been this season.
This move could also spark speculation of something bigger coming. Aplin could just be a “pieces” move and the M’s could be going to move him elsewhere soon as they did with Mallex Smith over the offseason.
Next: Are the Mariners already out of playoff contention?
As he’s just been a Mariner for under an hour, who knows what will become of Aplin, but Dipoto is always out to make moves to help the Mariners.