SHANNON DRAYER

Mariners notes: More on the Carlos Ruiz-Vidal Nuno trade

Nov 8, 2016, 10:13 AM | Updated: 3:03 pm

Carlos Ruiz, 37, gives the M's a better backup plan at catcher than what they had entering last sea...

Carlos Ruiz, 37, gives the M's a better backup plan at catcher than what they had entering last season. (AP)

(AP)

The MLB general manager meetings are underway in Scottsdale, Ariz., and while in the past very little player news or moves came during these meetings (which are not to be confused with the much larger winter meetings held in December) we have seen that change in the last couple of years. At the very least, deals will start to be put together this week, and we’ve already seen one with the Mariners.

Catcher Carlos Ruiz, acquired from the Dodgers in exchange for left-hander Vidal Nuno, will step in as the backup to Mike Zunino. The Mariners’ hope is that Zunino will continue to take steps forward and solidify his presence in the No. 1 spot. But if he doesn’t, Ruiz is a better short-term backup plan than what the Mariners had heading into the offseason. He is one year removed from a split role and two years removed from being his team’s primary catcher. On paper it would appear he could hold the role down with help if needed. The Mariners’ hope, of course, is that it will not be needed.

Some thoughts on the move that I shared in the comments section in the previous post that I will share here:

For starters, I like the experience Ruiz brings having been the primary catcher on a playoff and World Series team. One reader expressed concern that his pitch framing numbers were not good. I am not terribly worried about this because he handled some of the top pitchers in the game with the Phillies, including Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. If pitchers of that caliber believed he was hurting them, he would not have been behind the plate. It will be interesting to see how he works with Zunino. As I mentioned to another commenter, I believe Zunino can still benefit from a mentor and by all reports, Ruiz should be a good one.

As for losing Nuno, yes, he’s a lefty and the Mariners need lefties in the bullpen, but he wasn’t going to fill the critical need of a left-handed setup man. He also struggled coming in with runners on base, stranding just 19 of 33 inherited runners last season. Nuno’s best role is in long relief and those players are not terribly hard to find. The greater need is for a bigger left-handed arm in the pen, something that no doubt is a huge focus for general manager Jerry Dipoto right now.

Notes

• Tuesday was the deadline for teams to extend qualifying offers to their own free agents and only seven teams did so. The following players have been given the qualifying offer and would require the Mariners to forfeit their first-round pick should they sign them: Mark Trumbo (BAL), Jeremy Hellickson (PHI), Yoenis Cespedes (NYM), Neil Walker (NYM), Edwin Encarnacion (TOR), Jose Bautista (TOR), Ian Desmond (TEX), Dexter Fowler (CHC), Kenley Jansen (LAD), Justin Turner (NYM).

• The Gold Gloves Awards will be announced Tuesday at 5 p.m. on ESPN. Kyle Seager and Robinson Cano are finalists. The Mariners did not have any finalists for the BBWAA awards, which were announced Monday.

• Mark Simon of ESPN tweeted an eye-opening stat Tuesday morning about Zunino. It’s a remarkable number considering he started just 48 games last season. Seager and Cano were other Mariners on the leaderboards. Seager was tied for the most defensive runs saved at third base in the American League with 15 and Cano had the second-most at second base with 11.

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