Mariners-Blue Jays deal nets M's one of the top relievers on the trade market

The Mariners have set the tone for this year's Major League Baseball trade deadline with a late-night blockbuster with a familiar trade partner, the Tampa Bay Rays. Their proactive approach, led by President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto and General Manager Justin Hollander, has brought a timely upgrade in American League All-Star Randy Arozarena to the team. But they're not stopping there. As Daniel Kramer reports, the Mariners are bolstering their bullpen with the addition of one of the top rental relievers on the market, Yimi Garcia, ensuring the fans are in for an exciting stretch run.

Garcia is a proven veteran reliever who will help manager Scott Servais rack and stack the bullpen for the stretch run. The 33-year-old reliever runs a 36.5% strikeout rate and misses bats, but the deep analytics tell the real story. Despite a smaller sample size due to a stint on the IL, his Baseball Savant page includes a ton of red. This means that even with limited data, Garcia's performance metrics are impressive. Whiff, chase, fastball velocity, you name it, we are talking about the Mariners receiving an elite arm to slide the struggling Trent Thornton and Ryne Stanek into less leverage roles and help get the ball to closer Andres Munoz with late-game leads intact.

The outgoing prospects include 2023 17th-round draft pick, catcher Jacob Sharp, and fan favorite, Jonatan Clase. Sharp is performing well in Modesto and will give the Blue Jays some organizational depth behind the plate. The 21-year-old, Clase is the big get for Toronto, as he immediately slots into center field next season due to annual Gold Glover Kevin Kiermeyer's upcoming retirement.

Clase offers a unique power-speed combo that should play well in the smaller American League East ballparks. From a Mariners' perspective they had a logjam in the outfield with the newly acquired Arozarena, Luke Raley, Julio Rodriguez, and a rehabbing Dominic Canzone under contract for at least the next two years. Not to mention, the outfield talent on the way to Seattle in the next few years includes Jonny Farmelo, Lazaro Montes, and RJ Shreck all top 30 prospects in the Mariners' farm system.

It's a win for both teams, as Toronto gets a quality outfielder with room to grow his game, and the Mariners make another move to right a sinking ship by bringing in a dominant reliever.