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3 key takeaways from the Mariners' trade deadline moves

Seattle was one of the most active teams this July but what does it all really mean? Here are some key takeaways from the Mariners trade deadline moves

By Jason Wang |
Seattle Mariners v Chicago White Sox
Seattle Mariners v Chicago White Sox / Justin Casterline/GettyImages
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It has been a busy past few days for Mariners fans. The front office opened the floodgates late last week and went on a roll, making several big transactions. To recap, here is a list of the incoming moves made by the team. You can check out the entire list here to see every move made.

  • July 26: Acquired OF Randy Arozarena from Rays in exchange for OF Aidan Smith (#12 ranked prospect in Mariners' system), RHP Brody Hopkins (#22 ranked prospect in Mariners' system), and player to be named later
  • July 26: Acquired RHP Yimi García from Blue Jays in exchange for OF Jonatan Clase (#10 ranked prospect in Mariners' system) and C Jacob Sharp
  • July 29: Acquired INF Justin Turner from Blue Jays in exchange for OF RJ Schreck (#29 ranked prospect in Mariners' system)
  • July 30: Acquired RHP JT Chargois from Marlins for in exchange for RHP Will Schomberg

With two new position players and two new bullpen arms, the Mariners have officially staked their claim on the AL West and a spot in the postseason, but what more can we glean?

#1. Big holes in the lineup have been patched

The two names with the biggest potential imapct are clearly Arozarena and Turner. After months of a mediocre offense, Seattle quickly picked up two players who have been plus-bats throughout their careers. Their performances this year don't stand out too much but there's more than meets the eye with both of these players.

Randy got off to a rocky start, posting a .461 OPS over 123 plate appearances in April/March, but he has been on an absolute tear since June, slashing .293/.401/.518 for a cumulative .919 OPS. What has been excellent all year is his performance against lefties where he's managed to hit to a .876 OPS. The Mariners as a team have just a .670 OPS against left-handed pitching, 25th in MLB.

Justin Turner's story is a little more complex. He has roughly even splits against both lefties and righties but had a horrible month of May, accumulating just a .349 OPS across 81 plate appearances. After bouncing back in a big way with a .914 OPS in June, he's started to regress in July. However, if there's one word that can describe Turner it's adapatability. Throughout his long, 16-year career in the big leagues, the lowest OPS+ he has ever had in a qualified season is 94 back in 2011. He may not be Josh Gibson in 1937 but you can pretty much bet the house that he'll contribute and make adjustments to get back on track when necessary.

Randy has been filling in at left field while Turner has been serving as a DH, both positions that have been lackluster offensively. Luke Raley has been the team's primary left fielder with help from Dominic Canzone and a few others, combining for a .678 OPS, 20th in MLB. It's a similar story at DH with Mitch Garver and the gang combining for a .701 OPS at the position, 22nd in MLB.

#2. The bullpen has added gas and stuff at the right time

A few weeks prior to the arrival of García and Chargois, the return of Gregory Santos added another reliever with excellent velocity and stuff to the roster. With a 91 mph slider and a 99 mph sinker, Santos' power was a dangerous late game combination with Andrés Muñoz.

Yimi García has a more diverse arsenal, throwing a four-seam fastball and curveball along with his sinker and sweeper. He averages 97 mph on his four-seam fastball and has a 84 mph curveball with 40 inches of drop and 11 inches of horizontal break. His whiff (29.7%) and strikeout (36.4%) rates would be top-of-the-line among qualified pitchers.

JT Chargois is a little less proven this year but he has managed a 1.62 ERA over 16.2 innings. If he were to continue pitching as he is now, regression would come for him soon as his xERA of 5.21 and FIP of 5.32 may indicate. His slider is most intriguing and has a Stuff+ rating of 110. At an average velocity of 86 mph, opposing hitters are slugging just .286 against the pitch.

#3. The Mariners have a real chance to overtake the Astros

With the race to the top of the AL West still razor close, Seattle's moves are even more impressive when compared to what the Astros did. Houston's only move of note was to acquire LHP Yusei Kikuchi for three expensive prospects, a peculiar decision given Kikuchi's status as a true rental starter. The Astros also acquired LHP Caleb Ferguson, a reliever with a 5.13 ERA from the Yankees over 33.1 innings pitched. Neither one of these moves are what they needed to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

While the Mariners managed to bolster the weaker parts of their roster, namely the offense and back of the bullpen, the Astros still have the same problems: a damaged rotation and a lack of effective lefty relievers. They have a combined starter ERA of 4.23, 18th in MLB. Josh Hader has a 4.11 ERA as one of just two lefty relievers, the other being big-league newcomer Bryan King. It would be surprising if Kikuchi and Ferguson were the answers to these problems.

Could this be the year that Seattle wins the division for the first time since 2001? If the trade deadline is any indication, the answer could be yes.

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