Mariners trade DFA'd pitcher as far away as possible

The Mariners continued making moves this offseason, and have moved journeyman Darren McCaughan to the Marlins for cash considerations

Milwaukee Brewers v Seattle Mariners
Milwaukee Brewers v Seattle Mariners / Steph Chambers/GettyImages

Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander must have a bingo board with 24 different teams on it, and they are trying to hit it big by trading with, seemingly, every team in baseball this offseason. Their latest move makes it 12 trades so far in the 2023/24 offseason, as tracked by the incredible Jordan Shusterman on a Google Sheet.

The latest move that the Mariners made was a subsequent move of Canaan Smith-Njigba signing that they made recently, when they had to make room for him on the 40-man, and decided to Designate Darren McCaughan. They were able to make a move with the Marlines, adding them to their 2023/24 trade list. Check out all the teams that the Mariners have made deals with so far this offseason.

Justin Hollander and Jerry Dipoto have been busy, and Darren McCaughan is the latest move

Pirates: Cash for Cody Bolton
Cardinals: Riley O'Brien for Cash
Rays: Tatem Levins for Blake Hunt
Red Sox: Isaiah Campbell for Luis Urias
Diamondbacks: Eugenio Suarez for Seby Zavala & Carlos Vargas
Braves: Jarred Kelenic, Marco Gonzales, Evan White for Jackson Kowar & Cole Phillips
Giants: Robbie Ray for Anthony DeSclafani and & Robbie Ray
Rays: Jose Caballero for Luke Raley
Twins: Justin Topa, Anthony DeSclafani, Darren Bowen, Gabriel Gonzalez for Jorge Polanco
Royals: PTBNL/Cash for Samad Taylor
White Sox: Zach Deloach, Prelander Berroa, Comp Balance B Pick for Gregory Santos
Marlins: Darren McCaughan for Cash

Goodness. I'm tired just from typing that out. That's 12 trades with 11 teams, as the Rays were the only duplicates on there. The Mariners had to let one of their pitchers go after signing a handful of relievers to their 40-man this offseason, and McCaughan ended up being the odd man out. He threw in 5 games for the Mariners between 2021 and 2023, making a single start back in 2021. The Marlins have sent back a currently undisclosed cash amount in order to get McCaughan.

It is funny that they didn't just designate McCaughan, but instead sent him literally sent him as far away as they possible could while keeping him in the MLB. It's around 3,300 miles from Seattle to Miami, which would be a 48 hour drive if you didn't stop. That's more hours in a car than outs McCaughan got for the Mariners.

The move officially clears the way for CSN to enter the 40-man roster, and possibly compete for a spot in Spring Training. McCaughan might see a fair amount of work in Miami, as a non-contending team could use this as an opportunity to build value, find a cheap pitcher, and do so for solely cash considerations. Best of luck in Miami, Darren.