Trade Deadline

There are specific days each year that I get a little bit more excited about then other days.  For most people these days are birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and days similar to those.  However, for me the days I enjoy the most are opening day of baseball, the first day of spring training, the home run derby and the trade deadline.

Now for this season the trade deadline officially came and went on July 31st and like previous years I was not disappointed.  I always like seeing what players get traded away and even more importantly what players my favorite team acquired.

The Mariners made two key trades before the trade deadline occurred and I personally feel that both were excellent trades for the Mariners.

The first trade that the Mariners executed was with the Detroit Tigers.  The Mariners sent David Pauley and Doug Fister to the Tigers in exchange for Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush and Francisco Martinez.  This deal was a value trade for both teams.

Fister has been great this year but pitching isn’t the issue in Seattle.  It’s offense, so giving up a solid young arm is never fun to do but is worth it when you see that the return value is equal to and maybe even greater then what was traded.  Pauley also has had a solid year but like Josh Fields in the second trade he was neither a deal maker or breaker.

In return the acquisition of Casper Wells is more then just a cool name, but is a player that may someday be a regular in the OF for the M’s.  Getting Wells is a great piece and possibly an important one for the future but the addition of Furbush is not to be overlooked.  He is a young, tall lefty who could fit perfectly at Safeco.    I don’t know much about Martinez so I will simply say this, I would of done this trade simply for Wells and Furbush but to also get a 3rd baseman that has at least some potential is just a nice addition in the trade.

Although I really like the first trade, the second one may just top the first in my opinion. 

The M’s send often injured, but very good when he is healthy, Erik Bedard along with Josh Fields to Boston.  Bedard was in the final year of his contract and even though he may have resigned with the M’s this off season, the risk of him getting hurt AGAIN made it not worth the risk of keeping him. (Plus he still might return to Seattle)

In exchange the M’s receive Trayvon Robinson and Chih-Hsien Chiang.  I’ll start with Chiang.  Chiang is a player who has come on strong this past season and has given a lot of people reason to believe that he could be a solid hitting outfielder.  He still has room to grow but he at the very least gives real depth at a position that is full of players that are considered AAAA players at the best.

Robinson is what makes this trades potential very high.  He is a very talented player that has the ability to play in center field on a regular basis.  His speed is very good and to a lot of peoples surprise he has shown quite a bit of power this season in AAA.  Robinson will be up with the M’s probably no later then Septembers call ups and I wouldn’t be surprised if he sticks with the team from that point on.

The M’s are building for the future and with each little move like this I can begin to see a brighter future coming.