Mariners Double Dip, Trade for Adam Warren

Remember when Mariners fans were in a panic a week ago because Jerry Dipoto hadn’t made any trades. Who’s laughing now punks? In the past 4 days, Dipoto has made 3 trades, including 2 today.

In the second trade of the afternoon, the Seattle Mariners acquired New York Yankee reliever Adam Warren. The move came as a shock to most of baseball. Usually, 2 teams competing for the same playoff spot don’t make deals. Today, that is exactly what happened.

Warren is a 6-1, 224lbs right-handed reliever. He burst onto the scene in 2017 as a member of the Yankees elite bullpen, posting a 2.35 ERA in 46 appearances. Warren has followed up his breakout season with a solid 2018, posting a 2.70 ERA while posting a career-high strikeout rate of 11.1 K/9.

Warren peripherals show he isn’t as good as the raw numbers suggest. However, with a 3.30 FIP and 1.21 WHIP, Warren is still a solid late-inning option for Servais to use. Warren is also capable of covering multiple innings, with 8 of his 24 appearances covering 4 outs or more.

Interestingly, Warren won’t light up the radar gun. His average fastball is just 92 mph. But he poses a starter repertoire, flashing an average curveball and changeup to go along with his fastball and slider.

In addition to the length he adds to the pen, Warren is a nightmare on the right-handed hitters. They are slashing just .170/.246/.270 against Warren this season. Left-handed hitters have been a problem for Warren this season, but his career splits show no distinguishable difference in either direction.

How the Mariners plan to use Warren remains to be seen. He is a true rental, so he will be gone after the 2018 season. What Warren does provide is the flexibility to cover any role necessary, from long relief to high leverage, late game situations.

Seattle gave up most of their remaining international bonus pool money. $1.25 million of the $1.75 million they had to land Warren, but no players. The deal has the creative flair that Dipoto loves, and adds another valuable piece to the Mariners 25 man roster.

Huh, almost like the Mariners can get good players right? That’s funny because a lot of Mariners fans didn’t seem to think it was possible.