Sodo Mojo’s Mariners Trade Deadline Plan

Trade 4: Seth Elledge, Juan Querecuto, David Frietas and Juan Mercedes for Kirby Yates and AJ Ellis

I told you it was an aggressive plan. The Mariners need bullpen help. They could also use a backup catcher. The San Diego Padres have both. We have written about Kirby Yates in the past and has more or less become the official ” pleas acquire reliever” of the site.

We already discussed Yates at length here. However, here is a quick rundown of the Padres reliever.

Yates is a 31-year-old RHP who has a history for missing bats and throwing strikes. A career 11.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 ratios confirm that. This season, Yates has finally put his skill set together and has posted a 1.51 ERA and a 0.925 WHIP.

Yates would give the Mariners, and more importantly Scott Servais, a bonafide setup man to use anytime after the 5th inning.

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Perhaps overlooked but still important in the deal, is 37-year-old catcher AJ Ellis. The Mariners could really use a backup catcher down the stretch. Ellis represents a polar-opposite offensive approach to Zunino. Ellis has just over 1,900 career PA and has an impressive .341 career OBP.

While most would expect Ellis to be slowing at 37, he is actually having an excellent year, slashing .295/.400/.371. Ellis has playoff experience which is a nice bonus feature. He works well with pitchers and has an excellent reputation for calling a game.

Zunino will absolutely get the majority of PA down the stretch, but having a player like Ellis can actually allow the Mariners to treat Mike like an MLB catcher, getting him off his feet 2-3 times a week.

For their services, the Mariners will have to part ways with 2 of the highest-upside prospects in their farm system. Querecuto was a big-time international signing just last season. He is a good athlete who can play anywhere on the field. Most scouts believe he will hit for a decent average and has a good approach at the plate.

Seth Elledge is a 2017 4th round pick, who could be MLB ready as soon as 2019. The fastball sits at 95 mph, with a heavy sink which produces groundballs and swings and misses. He also flashes solid-average slider and changeup.

If the Padres want to wait a bit longer, he may have the stuff to be a solid rotation piece in a few years. As of now, he is a potential late-inning high leverage reliever who will be up sooner rather than later.

Juan Mercedes is an 18-year-old in the Dominican League with solid upside, and David Frietas gives the Padres a younger, more controllable catcher to replace Ellis.