Seattle Mariners: Best and Worst Trades of All-Time
Statistical breakdown of the most impactful trades in Seattle Mariners history
With the Mariners poised to drudge through another season and in need of some major overhauls (see the bullpen) it felt more relevant to look back at how the Mariners have fared in trades historically since the team is obviously still multiple moves away from being a contender. It was also far more interesting than analyzing Brian Shaw and his 20.77 ERA or Erik Swanson with his 14.40 ERA.
The stats don’t lie. The Mariners have been on the wrong side of trades far more often than on the right side. Far more. This means Dipoto has a low bar to clear…. but also some bad juju to overcome.
Below are the 5 best and worst trades in team history. Some real doozies out there (do people even remember Omar Vizquel was a Mariner?)
5 Best Trades
- Mariners traded
· Darren Bragg: Played 9 more seasons with 36 HRs, 221 RBIs and never hitting over .280 with a WAR of 6.3.
Mariners received:
· Jamie Moyer: Over 11 seasons with M’s had 145 wins, 3.97 ERA, 2.36 K/BB and 34.2 WAR.
Bragg was a solid platoon outfielder, but Moyer has the second most wins in M’s history and won 3 postseason starts.
2. Mariners traded
· Mark Langston: 105–91 with a 3.94 ERA and a 30.7 WAR after trade. Unfortunately for the Expos they only got a .5 season.
· Mike Campbell: Never threw a pitch for the Expos and didn’t accumulate 50 total innings after the trade.
Mariners received:
· Randy Johnson: In 9 seasons with M’s won a Cy Young, threw a no hitter, 5-time All-Star, 130 wins, 3.42 ERA, second most strikeouts in team history and a WAR of 39.
· Brian Holman: Derailed by injuries, but effective in 2.5 seasons with 32 wins, 3.73 ERA and WAR of 8. Also, coincidentally lost a perfect game with two out in the ninth to a Ken Phelps home run.
· Gene Harris: Most ineffective of the players traded. 3 seasons with a WAR of -1.6.
This essentially goes down as Langston for Johnson, which isn’t fair to Langston who was a good pitcher. However, he was traded for one of the best left-handed pitchers in MLB history and thus gets lumped into one of the worst trades in MLB history. Johnson would go on to become one of the most intimidating pitchers in baseball, throw no hitters, win Cy Youngs and win the hearts of Seattle with several iconic moments during the 1995 pennant run.
3. Mariners traded
· Ken Phelps: In 8 seasons had 18 HRs, 58 RBIs and -.3 WAR.
Mariners received:
· Jay Buhner: In 13.5 seasons hit 307 HRs, 951 RBIs, .497 SLG and a 23.1 WAR
Seinfeld openly mocked this trade on his show. Enough said.
4. Mariners traded
· Robinson Cano
· Edwin Diaz
Mariners received:
· Jay Bruce
· Anthony Swarzak
· Gerson Bautista
· Jarred Kelenic
· Justin Dunn
Too early to break down statistically, but just offloading Cano’s contract made this a win (yes the Mariners trades have been this bad that just getting rid of a bad contract gets you the fourth best trade in team history). Cano was a 36-year old second baseman who had 5-years and $120 million on his contract AND had just tested positive for steroids. Should Dunn or Kelenic end up having significant careers this trade will skyrocket up the list.
5. Mariners traded
· Jim Blueberg
Mariners received:
· Mike Blowers: In his first run with team Blowers added some pop to the bottom of the lineup with 47 HRs, 202 RBIs and a 5.6 WAR.
Blowers wasn’t an all-time great, but was a key cog for the early Pinella teams. Plus he hit 3 grand slams in 1993 — pretty cool. Blueberg only pitched half a season in the minors for the Yankees before calling it a career.
Honorable mention:
· Sean Green, JJ Putz, Jeremy Reed (Mets) and Luis Valbuena (Indians) for Franklin Gutierrez, Jason Vargas, Mike Carp, Endy Chavez, Aaron Heilman, Ezequiel Carrera and Maikel Cleto
5 Worst Trades
1) Mariners traded
· Jason Varitek: 2-time World Series Champion, 7-year captain, 3-time All-Star, 193 HRs, 757 RBIs and 24.2 WAR.
· Derek Lowe: Pitched 16 more seasons — In 8 seasons with the Red Sox was a 2-time All-Star with 70 wins, 85 saves and a 19.4 WAR. Lowe also recorded 4 postseason wins and a save. Outside of Boston Lowe had 104 wins with a 3.99 ERA and 14.6 WAR.
Mariners received:
· Heathcliff Slocumb: 2–9 with a 4.97 ERA, 13 saves and a .4 WAR in 1.5 years as a Mariner.
Varitek and Lowe were key cogs in ending “The Curse” for the Red Sox while Slocumb pitched so poorly he wasn’t even the M’s closer by the close of his first season with the team.
2) Mariners traded
· Omar Vizquel: In 11 seasons in Cleveland was a 3-time All-Star, 8 Gold gloves, .283 BA, 906 Runs and 30.2 WAR. In 8 additional seasons won 2 more gold gloves with a WAR of 5.
Mariners received:
· Felix Fermin: Hit.317 in first season, but fell off the planet in second losing the SS job and finishing 2 seasons in Seattle with a .275 BA, 1 HR, 50 RBIs and a -1.3 WAR.
· Reggie Jefferson: As the starting DH hit 8 HRs with 32 RBIs and a 1.1 WAR in only season with M’s.
Little O would play 19 more seasons after being traded and will likely be a Hall of Famer (in 2020 received 52% of the vote — his third year of eligibility) while Fermin and Jefferson would combine to play 3 seasons in Seattle and accumulate less than 200 hits.
3) Mariners traded
· Tino Martinez: 1-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner with 192 HRs, 739 RBI and 16.7 WAR over 7 seasons with Yankees. He also hit 3 HRs with 14 RBIs in helping the Yankees to 4 World Series championships.
· Jeff Nelson: 23 wins, 3.47 ERA and a 6. 4 WAR in 5 seasons as the Yankees top right-hand setup man to Mariano Rivera
· Jim Mecir:
Mariners received:
· Sterling Hitchcock: 13 wins, 5.35 ERA and .2 WAR
· Russ Davis: .256 BA, .309 OBP, 66 HRs, 222 RBIs and a .1 WAR. The guy really could dance though. https://youtu.be/jmqmHbkny-g
Martinez and Nelson were key cogs on 4 Yankee championship teams while Hitchcock was a mediocre pitcher for one season and Davis who only had a positive WAR in one season (1.8 in 1997).
4) Mariners traded
· Adam Jones: 5-time All-Star. 4-time Gold Glove winner with 263 HRS, 866 RBIs and 32.2 WAR over 11 seasons with Orioles.
· Chris Tillman: 1-time All-Star, 74 wins, 1-playoff win and 8.9 WAR spanning 10 seasons
· George Sherrill: 1-time All-Star, 3 wins, 51 saves and 1.8 WAR
· Kameron Mickolio
Mariners received:
· Erick Bedard: 46 starts, 15–14, averaged 5.2 innings/start and 4.1 WAR
Jones, Tillman and Sherril all made All-Star teams with the Orioles. Bedard on the other hand, wouldn’t make 20 starts in a season or really ever make it out of the 5th inning during his 2.5 seasons with the team. Not quite the value a team is expecting when it trades four players — one of whom is its top prospect (Jones).
5) Mariners traded
· Rafael Soriano: In 3 seasons with Braves had 4 wins, 2.97 ERA, 39 saves and a 3.5 WAR. Pitched 6 additional seasons with 1 All-Star appearance, 16 wins, 164 saves and a 6.4 WAR.
· Horacio Ramirez: During one season with Mariners had 8 wins, 7.16 ERA, 40 SOs, 42 BBs and -1.4 WAR.
Horacio Ramirez wasn’t even slated to be in the Braves starting rotation and Soriano was considered to be the next Mariano Rivera. Also, you saw Ramirez’s only season ended with a -1.4 WAR right?
Honorable mention:
· Mariners trade Mike Hampton and Mike Felder for Eric Anthony (Astros)
· Mariners trade Asdrubal Cabrera for Ben Broussard (Indians)
· Mariners trade Shin Soo Choo and Shawn Nottingham for Eduardo Perez (Indians)
· Mariners trade Cliff Lee for Justin Smoak, Blake Beaven and Josh Lueke (Rangers)
· Mariners trade Spike Owen and Dave Henderson for Rey Quniones, Mike Brown and Mike Trujilo (Red Sox)
· Mariners trade Bill Swift, Mike Jackson and Dave Burba for Kevin Mitchell and Mike Remlinger (Giants)
· Mariners trade David Arias (Ortiz) for Dave Hollins (Twins)
· Mariners trade Bud Black for Manny Castillo (Royals)
