Mariner’s Flexen, Gott headed to Big Apple

President of Baseball Operations, Jerry Dipoto has never been afraid to make a move, even during a season when the team isn’t living up to expectations. Trader Jerry struck up a deal with the New York Mets, another disappointing team sending Chris Flexen and Trevor Gott to the Big Apple. Zach Muckenhim, a Marco Gonzales clone is the return. Mariner fans should look at this trade two ways.

First, Steve Cohen isn’t deterred by adding salary to make his team better. Flexen had an estimated $4 million left on his 2023 salary. Recent reports suggest the Mets will designate Flexen for assignment meaning all Cohen’s cash cow really wanted as a right-handed reliever. Enter Trevor Gott, who the Mariners signed to a two year deal this past offseason.

Second, the Mariners were looking for salary relief and a reason to tap into their abundance of high leverage relievers in the farm system. This move gives Dipoto and general manager, Justin Hollander $4M to play with this offseason and opens the door for Riley O’Brien, a return of Matt Festa, or even Prelander Berroa.

Lastly, Muckenhim could prove extremely valuable as the Mariners look to protect over-exposure and a heavy workload for rookie starters, Bryce Miller, and Bryan Woo. The 28-year-old lefty control artist could pitch heavy innings this season especially over the next few weeks. Manager Scott Servais has already gone on record saying Miller might follow the 2022 George Kirby plan meaning they could send him to Tacoma to manage his innings in July.

It sure looks like a win-win for both sides, but even more so for the hometown team.