Mariners Grade a Trade: Roenis Elias heads to Nationals

The Seattle Mariners made two trades with the Washington Nationals on July 31st… we think. We aren’t quite sure whether Hunter Strickland and Roenis Elias were traded together or not.

But either way, we have decided to break it into two trade. Earlier this week, we profiled the prospect return for Hunter Strickland. Today, we take a look at the return the Mariners got with one of their best trade chips, Roenis Elias.

As the deadline inched closer, the most likely Mariner to be traded was Elias and with just under 3 hours to go, reports started to flow that GM Jerry Dipoto had agreed to a deal to send his de facto closer to the Washington Nationals.

In return, Dipoto was able to snag Taylor Guilbeau and Elvis Alvarado, two young pitchers. The wildcard of the deal is Alvarado, a 20-year-old right-hander who only converted to the mound 2 years ago.

Little is known about Alvarado, but there have been reports that he has already touched 100 MPH. As one would expect with a 20-year-old who has barely pitched in his entire life, Alvarado has a long ways to go and is just a long-term lottery ticket. But a fastball like that is always worth a risk.

The big return of this package is left-handed pitcher Taylor Gilbeau. At 26-years-old, Gilbeau is a bit older than most prospects but he is expected to make his MLB debut sometime this season. The lefty saw his fastballs jump into the mid-90s during his stint in the Arizona Fall League and his slider has always had good depth to it.

Guilbeau has 2 above-average to plus offerings from the left-side and has dominated same-handed hitters in his career. The question will be if he can get out right-handed hitters on a consistent basis, something the Mariners believe he can do.

In the minor leagues, Guilbeau has posted a 2.76 ERA, a 53/15 K: BB ratio, and a 2:1 groundball/flyball rate. A reliever who can miss bats and get groundballs without walking anybody has a chance to be a contributing bullpen piece.

Overall, the package coming back for Elias was solid but unspectacular. Many were a bit upset at the return considering what Chris Martin went for just the night before, but the package feels about right for the inconsistent Elias.

Grade: B-