Seattle Mariners: Re-grading the trade deadline

OF CAMERON MAYBIN

Oof…

The Mariners weren’t getting the offensive production they desired out of the center field position from Guillermo Heredia. They needed to supplement the position with a better bat even if that meant sacrificing some defense.

In Cameron Maybin, the Mariners acquired a player they viewed as that necessary offensive upgrade, but also as someone who projected to even fare better than Heredia in the field.

Ironically, Heredia and Maybin have nearly identical slash lines since August 1st, while Heredia has been a significantly better defender in center field. Scratch that – Heredia has actually been a better all-around player, slashing .231/.273/.307 to Maybin’s .210/.264/.284 since the latter’s arrival.

Not only has Maybin’s poor play hurt the Mariners in 2018, but perhaps long-term as well. Giving up Bryson Brigman was a tough pill to swallow; though a future in the Mariners organization was rather unlikely, Brigman was starting to develop into a solid prospect that could have netted the M’s better value had they held onto him a bit longer.

In 29 games in the Marlins’ system, Brigman slashed .327/.361/.407 for a 120 wRC+. We’ll see how that translates to a full season in 2019, but it’s definitely a bit discouraging to see as a Mariners fan.

While I don’t expect Brigman to become a starter at the Major League level, the Mariners definitely gave up on him too early for a player with plenty of question marks in Maybin.

I wasn’t a fan of it when it happened, and I’m definitely not a fan of it now. It’s definitely one of the worst trades Jerry Dipoto has made in his time with the Mariners. Just an awful deal.

Initial grade: C
Re-evaluated grade: F-