SHANNON DRAYER

Mariners’ trade is about established talent in Jean Segura over potential with Taijuan Walker, Ketel Marte

Nov 23, 2016, 10:15 PM | Updated: Nov 24, 2016, 9:24 am

General manager Jerry Dipoto called Jean Seugra "one of the premiere offensive players" in MLB last...

General manager Jerry Dipoto called Jean Seugra "one of the premiere offensive players" in MLB last year. (AP)

(AP)

Heading into the offseason, general manager Jerry Dipoto in a number of interviews rattled off the Mariners’ needs as a left-handed arm, a partner for Daniel Vogelbach at first base and corner outfield help. I asked him last Thursday on our “Hot Stove” podcast about what appeared to be another need, leadoff hitter.

“There’s no one in house that screams, ‘I have the leadoff skillset,'” he said, going on to note that Ben Gamel would be considered and that Guillermo Heredia could lead off against lefties. “Fortunately we are not playing a game tomorrow. There are a lot of days left for us to continue to build and put the finishing touches on our roster, but we feel when all is said and done we will have a balanced and competitive lineup.”

Dipoto scratched leadoff hitter off his list Wednesday night, trading Taijuan Walker and Ketel Marte to the Diamondbacks for shortstop Jean Segura, outfielder Mitch Haniger and left-handed reliever Zac Curtis. Segura, 26, hit .319/368/.499/.867 with 20 home runs and 33 stolen bases last season while finishing second in WAR in the National League to Chicago’s Kris Bryant.

Jean Segura’s bio

“We feel we are acquiring one of the premier leadoff hitters in the league,” Dipoto said on a conference call Wednesday night. “He’s a very, very skilled athlete. We feel the idea of him talking the spot at shortstop alongside Robinson Cano and hitting at the top of our lineup gives a a different dynamic than we had in any point in 2016.”

It’s a trade for both the now and the future. The Mariners believe that Haniger and Curtis will be big-league contributors soon and like the earlier acquisitions of Taylor Motter and Richie Shaffer bring younger, more athletic talent to the major-league depth pool. Giving up two big leaguers, however, is never easy according to Dipoto.

“You have to give to get,” he said. “We feel we are getting a little bit more of a known commodity. We understand Tai takes with him the upside to achieve something greater. I know that is real. At some point Tai is going to put it all together and he will find himself as a pitcher, but at this point and this time, this trade made more sense for where our roster is, and Jean Segura fit our club as well as any player we were looking at on the trade market.”

For the now, the Mariners traded acknowledged potential, in both Walker and Marte, for what they believe is the established talent of Segura. With where the Mariners are right now, established talent holds more value than what could be.

I have heard some suggest that the Mariners did not get enough for Walker. I asked an American League executive about Walker’s value earlier this week and he told me it could be moderate in this free-agent market, but not the great value perhaps some would expect. It certainly wouldn’t be as high as it was two years ago. As with any trade it will take time to see how it all plays out, but for now, on paper, the Mariners filled significant needs with this deal.  It would appear that the lineup is complete.

“The additions of  Jean Segura, Danny Valencia, Carlos Ruiz both upgrades our offense and lengthens our lineup and makes us a more dangerous team against left-handed pitching, which wasn’t a great strong suit of ours last year,” Dipoto said. “From the speed and power of Segura at the top to what is frankly the combination of speed and power of Leonys Martin at the bottom, it really runs very well 1-9.”

Of course now the pitching takes a hit. Heading into the offseason, the Mariners had what Dipoto called “enviable depth” with six returning starters. They now have five.

“Obviously now the depth is no longer enviable,” he said. “We will have to look to the market, either trade or free agency, to try to help create a little more depth. Perhaps the back of the rotation, perhaps we look to beef up the bullpen. Most of our focus, if not our primary focus moving forward now until opening day, is probably going to be toward the pitching staff.”

He should have the flexibility to do a couple of things. Segura is second-year arbitration eligible and projected by mlbtraderumors.com to come in at $7.3 million next season. He will add to the payroll. Still, the club is sitting around $137 million on the 25-man roster and is expected to spend above the final total of $150 million last season. If extra dollars are needed and they are truly comfortable with the depth they have in Major League ready outfielders, there is always the chance they could move Seth Smith. We will see arms brought in.

Bottom line: on paper, this deal makes the Mariners better now. Dipoto believes it will make the Diamondbacks better in the future.

“Taijaun Walker and Ketel Marte are two very talented young players who we have watched develop here in Seattle the last couple of years. They continue to have solid ceilings and will have long Major League careers and we wish them well,” he said.

On a personal note, Taijuan and Ketel were two of the good guys in the clubhouse, both very generous with their time and willingness to do interviews and share insights. I appreciated their openness very much, in talking about both their successes and struggles. I wish them well.

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Mariners’ trade is about established talent in Jean Segura over potential with Taijuan Walker, Ketel Marte