Mariners Trade Connor Phillips to Reds to Complete Winker Deal

The Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds finally completed their trade from earlier this month, announcing the player to be named later (PTBNL) in the deal on Tuesday. The news broke that the Mariners are sending right-handed pitching prospect Connor Phillips to the Reds as that PTBNL in the deal with the Reds. Below is the full and complete trade for both sides:

When the trade was first announced, Mariners fans thought that they were getting a steal because Phillips was not included, and throughout baseball history, PTBNL’s are usually insignificant. This was not the case in this deal, as MLB Pipeline had Phillips as the 15th ranked prospect in the M’s system. Adding Phillips to the package certainly hurts more than the deal previously did, but the swap is still a very good one for Seattle.

Having to pay this prospect capital for Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez is not too bad at all for the Mariners, but it does hurt the organization’s pitching depth. The Mariners have one of the best farm systems in baseball, and pitching is certainly a strength for the organization. However, having to deal two of their top seven pitching prospects certainly makes an impact.

There has been a lot of talk about being able to trade for proven big leaguers with their good pitching prospects, and now trading two in one deal may mean that Jerry Dipoto will be or will have to be hesitant trading any more pitching prospects. The Mariners still have lots of pitching depth, and they may be able to draft more to add to their farm system. (Local right-handed pitching prospect JR Ritchie may be someone the Mariners target in the draft this year)

Connor Phillips was originally drafted by the Mariners back in the second round of the 2020 draft via a pick that was traded to them from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for catcher Omar Narvaez; that original trade is what made this offseason’s Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez acquisition possible.