• Blog
  • Press
  • About
  • Blog
  • Press
  • About
Cover Those Bases

Mariners Acquire Drew Smyly From Rays For Prospects 

1/11/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Seattle Mariners announced Wednesday that they have acquired left-handed pitcher Drew Smyly from the Tampa Bay Rays.

In exchange for Smyly, the Rays received outfielder Mallex Smith (whom the Mariners acquired earlier in the day), infielder Carlos Vargas and left-handed pitcher Ryan Yarbrough. 

Smyly will fill out the 2017 Mariners' rotation, a group that will look quite different after an offseason full of moves from general manager Jerry Dipoto and company. 

Last season, Seattle featured a mediocre starting rotation that was worth just 9.0 fWAR, good for 19th in the Major Leagues and 10th in the American League. Depth behind Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma lacked, making it a priority for them to make upgrades during the offseason. 

Now, the projected rotation for next year still features Hernandez, Iwakuma and James Paxton, but Yovani Gallardo and Smyly were added on at the back for depth. Both have the opportunity to provide real upside. 

Like Gallardo, Smyly will be moving from a hitter-friendly AL East to a much more pitcher-favorable AL West division. The Mariners will represent his third team in just six big league seasons (2017 will be his sixth), and he has had a wide array of success. 

Smyly made his first 30+ start season in 2016, posting a 4.88 ERA and a 167-49 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 175.1 innings. His FIP (4.49) and xFIP (4.51) suggest that he was better than his ERA but not by much. Still, though, he provided value and was worth 2.0 fWAR. 

Smyly was the 68th overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft by the Tigers and will be a free agent following the 2018 season. He was once a semi-highly regarded pitching prospect and has shown flashes of dominance throughout his big league career but has not been able to put it altogether over the course of a full season. 

The risk associated with Smyly, though, appears to be worth it for the Mariners, who won 86 games in 2016 and appear to be in prime position to make the playoffs in 2017 for the first time since 2001. 

Smyly did not come at a cheap price, though. 

The 23-year-old Smith is the headliner in the return for Tampa Bay. Making his big league debut in 2016, the former Atlanta Brave hit .238/.316/.365 over 215 plate appearances. A former 5th round pick, Smith was rated as the Braves' 17th-best prospect before losing rookie status. 

Vargas, 17, posted a .734 OPS in 256 plate appearances in Rookie ball last year. Yarbrough, 25, posted a 2.95 ERA and a 99-31 K/BB ratio in 128.1 innings in Double-A. They also head to the Rays. 

--Devan Fink
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Angels
    Astros
    Athletics
    Blue Jays
    Braves
    Brewers
    Cardinals
    Cubs
    Diamondbacks
    Dodgers
    Giants
    Indians
    Mariners
    Marlins
    Mets
    Nationals
    Orioles
    Padres
    Phillies
    Pirates
    Rangers
    Rays
    Reds
    Red Sox
    Rockies
    Royals
    Tigers
    Twins
    White Sox
    Yankees

    Follow @CoverThoseBases
    Picture
    Follow @DevanFink

    Archives

    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos used under Creative Commons from Keith Allison, Keith Allison