Mariners Trade Anthony Swarzak to Atlanta for Jesse Biddle

The Seattle Mariners and their GM Jerry Dipoto never seem to stop making roster moves. Today, they made another, trading an expensive reliever and acquiring one, plus an interesting left-handed reliever.

The deal was announced late Monday morning. The Mariners shipped Anthony Swarzak and cash to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for LHP Jesse Biddle and RHP Arodys Vizcaino. Biddle, who was DFA’d last week is the “prize” for Dipoto, giving the bullpen a second lefty after they surprisingly DFA’d veteran Zach Rosscup last week.

Biddle, a former top prospect for the Philadelphia Phillies, will join the Major League team in Texas tonight. He has struggled some in 2019, posting a 5.40 ERA, a 4.90 FIP, and a 2.40 WHIP, thanks in large part to his 7.7 BB/9 rate.

However, the 27-year-old lefty is coming off a solid 2018 campaign that saw him make 60 appearances with a 3.11 ERA, a 3.88 FIP, and over a strikeout per inning. He also posted a 55.6% groundball rate in 2018. Biddle has 4-years of club control remaining, making him a controllable piece Dipoto loves to collect.

When he is right, Biddle is 94-95 MPH with the fastball and has a slider and curveball, which he uses a lot. The curveball is the better of the two offerings but both are effective when properly located.

Command is the issue with Biddle as his high walk numbers in the minors forced him to the bullpen. The stuff is there to be a solid high-leverage arm. The Mariners may hope to, or believe they have already found, a tweak to make with Biddle, which could unlock more production, similar to what we have seen from Roenis Elias, Connor Sadzeck, and Brandon Brennan already.

Vizcaino is actually one of the better middle relievers in the game and is just 28-years-old. Unfortunately, he is out for the year and will become a free agent this off-season. So why acquire an arm that may never throw a pitch for you?

The main reason is money. Vizcaino is making $4.3 million this year, so including him in the deal probably makes the money with Swarzack a relative wash. However, don’t undersell the value of getting Vizcaino in the organization. Having him here allows you to get a first-hand look at his rehab and medicals and could serve as an inside track to signing him this off-season.

But of all practical purposes, the deal shakes down to Swarzak for Biddle and if you’re a Mariners fan, you should be pretty happy with this deal. Biddle may not be an upgrade over Swarzak, but he is cheaper and you control his rights until after the 2023 season.

For a struggling reliever like Swarzak with no future in Seattle, that is a heck of a bargain. Jerry Dipoto earns high praise for finding quality bullpen pieces and finding creative trades. Both skills were on display today.