Mariners Make a Move

General Manager Jerry Dipoto kept pretty quiet during the General Manager meetings this last week in Arizona however he made a trade on Saturday with the Oakland A’s to pick up a player that gives the Mariners some versatility. They acquired Danny Valencia who is a veteran player that has been in the major leagues for seven years. His career batting average is .271 and he has hit .327 against left handed pitching.

Valencia is a right handed hitter who primarily played third base however he has played some first base as well. The Mariners figure he will play mostly first base and the outfield. He will give Kyle Seager a day off once in a while as well. In those cases Seager will probably dh. The Mariners expect Valencia to platoon some with Daniel Vogelbach at first base and he could with Seth Smith in the outfield. How much he plays at first base will depend on how well Vogelbach does. He was a regular at third base for the A’s so the Mariners could have him playing regular there if Vogelbach is not ready to play against right handers. What matters really is if the Mariners can pick up an outfielder or another first baseman. Most likely Dae-Ho Lee will not be returning for the Mariners and it is possible that Franklin Gutierrez will not either.

Valencia has some power since he hit seventeen home runs for the A’s. Where he hits the batting order is anyone’s guess at this time. He could bat second or sixth I would expect. It is real nice that the Mariners were able to pick up a player like him to play for them. Although he may play more than one position he is accustomed to playing every day which is a nice player to have. This will be good if something happens with Seager and they need someone to play third base for a little while. With his versatility it will be interesting to see how much Shawn O’Malley will play as the utility player. I expect the next thing for Dipoto to do is go out and find a veteran shortstop in the same manner as Valencia. A solid player that will allow Marte to get some more seasoning in triple A; in the same manner they did with Zunino last year. Although they don’t have to it would be nice to find an outfielder as well along with a starting pitcher. They may purchase or sign a left handed relief pitcher who can be a situational pitcher to face the other team’s best left handed hitter. Best of luck to Dipoto. Go M’s.