Baseball trades sometimes take months or even years to determine the winners and losers. It’s been about 8 months since that chaotic day on July 31, 2011, when the Seattle Mariners and the Detroit Tigers completed a six-player deal at the MLB trade deadline. I now have some perspective.
Here is the trade: Mariners sent pitchers Doug Fister and David Pauley to the Detroit Tigers, in exchange for OF Casper Wells, pitcher Charlie Furbush, minor league 3B Francisco Martinez and minor league pitcher Chance Ruffin.
When the trade happened last year, I was excited because GM Jack Zduriencik is a great talent evaluator. However, like most fans I was a little concerned (or panicked) the Mariners traded Fister, one of their best players, for prospects.
I had a similar sinking feeling back in 1998 when the Mariners traded future Hall of Famer, Randy Johnson to the Houston Astros for three minor leaguers at the trade deadline. Those minor leaguers were pitchers Freddy Garcia, John Halama, and shortstop Carlos Guillen.
As it turned out, it was a good trade for the Mariners. Freddy Garcia is still playing baseball and Carlos Guillen retired on Tuesday. But at the time, Johnson went on to have a huge second half with the Astros, recording a 10-1 record and a 1.28 ERA, while carrying the Astros to the post season.
The Astros went all in, they traded three of their top prospects for a rent-a-player in Johnson. If they had won the World Series, it would have been a great trade. The Astros lost to the San Diego Padres in the first round. Johnson signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks the following year.
Like the Randy Johnson trade, Doug Fister is serving his new team well. He ended up having a huge second half with the Tigers. In ten starts he won 8 games and lost one. Fister posted a 1.79 ERA and had an 11.4 strikeout to walk ratio for the Tigers. He also helped lead the Tigers into the post season and is a legitimate #2 starter behind stud ace Justin Verlander. David Pauley is penciled in as a set-up guy in the bullpen.
Lets now take a look at what kind of talent the Mariners received from the Tigers last year. Casper Wells had been on the fast track with the Tigers, but got overtaken by Brennan Boesch and Austin Jackson. The Tigers needed to trade him because their outfield was crowded.
Now playing for the Mariners, Wells has a shot at starting in center – with stiff competition from Michael Saunders. The Mariners believe Casper has good power and can play his position well. Centerfield has opened up because Franklin Guiterrez, the regular center fielder, is sidelined for the next couple of months with a pectoral injury. If Wells doesn’t take this spot there’s a good chance he’ll become the fourth outfielder.
The Mariners also received 6’5 lefthander Charlie Furbush in the deal. Entering his second season, Furbush will be competing for the #4, or #5 spot in the rotation. The Mariners have a lot of very talented pitchers coming up in the minors, (Taijuan Walker, Danny Hultzen, and James Paxton). I wouldn’t be surprised if Furbush is dealt in the next year or two, to make room in the rotation.
The third player in the deal is 21-year-old Francisco Martinez. The right-handed third baseman is believed to be the centerpiece of the trade for the Mariners. The young Martinez is a five-tool player who needs a couple of years in the minors to get some more at bats under his belt. Don’t be surprised if you see Martinez in Tacoma before the end of the year
Chance Ruffin is the son of former major leaguer Bruce Ruffin and was the player-to-be-named later in the deal. Ruffin is a few years away from the major league club.
So looking back on July 31 2011, the Mariners did well. They got younger and added pieces to their major league team and farm system. Yes, Fister would look great behind ace Felix Hernandez in the rotation, but you have to give up talent to get talent.
While The Mariners aren’t going to win the pennant this year, they have a slew of top rated pitching prospects in camp who’ll probably make the team in 2013. Currently, the Mariners have a starting outfielder in Wells, a #4 or #5 starter in Furbush, a possible future third baseman in Martinez, and a potential closer in Ruffin.
In baseball, it can take years to see the true winners and losers of a trade. From day one GM Jack Zdurencek wanted to build the Mariners into a winning organization. He’s doing it the right way by stock piling talent and building from within. Even if it takes a year or two, I think we’ll see the Mariners come out on top with the trade they made. But time will tell.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
