Mariners get All-Star 1B Yonder Alonso from A’s for OF Boog Powell
Aug 6, 2017, 10:22 AM | Updated: 12:52 pm
New Mariners first baseman Yonder Alonso has hit a career-high 22 homers this season. (AP)
(AP)
The Mariners waited until after the non-waiver trade deadline to make their biggest move of the season.
Yonder Alonso, a 2017 All-Star, is coming to Seattle from Oakland in a trade for outfielder Boog Powell.
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With the trade deadline having passed last Monday, Alonso had to either clear waivers before the A’s could trade him, be traded to a team that made a waiver claim on him, or be pulled back from waivers, the latter option of which would have made him ineligible to be traded for the rest of the season. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports the Mariners made a claim on Alonso then worked out the deal with the A’s.
That was just the first of two trades made Sunday morning by general manager Jerry Dipoto. He also acquired Triple-A right-handed pitcher Ryan Garton and Triple-A catcher Mike Marjama from Tampa Bay for Double-A left-handed pitcher Anthony Misiewicz, Single-A infielder Luis Rengifo and a player to be named later. Seattle designated Triple-A catcher Tuffy Gosewisch for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.
The 30-year-old Alonso is in the middle of a breakout season, hitting .266 with 22 home runs, 49 RBIs, a .369 on-base percentage and .527 slugging mark. He has already hit 13 more homers than his previous career-high in a season. He ranks second in the American League among first basemen in slugging and is third in homers and on-base.
A left-handed hitter, Alonso would seemingly fit well into a platoon at first base with Danny Valencia. Alonso is hitting .286 against right-handed pitchers but just .188 against lefties. Valencia is hitting .297 against southpaws and .256 against righties. Valencia has experience playing in the outfield and at third base, so the Mariners could find ways to keep him in the lineup against right-handed pitching.
Alonso and Valencia have a long history together, having been friends since playing together on a traveling team in high school as well as at the University of Miami. They also were teammates in Oakland last year.
A first-round pick in 2008, Alonso is an eight-year MLB veteran, having previously played for the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres. He is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.
Alonso responded to the trade via his Twitter account on Sunday afternoon.
— Yonder Alonso (@YonderalonsoU) August 6, 2017
Interestingly enough, Alonso’s Mariners debut will come Tuesday in Oakland when the two teams begin a two-game set.
Powell, 24, has played in 23 games over three stints with Seattle this season, but was most recently playing for Triple-A Tacoma.
The Mariners have depth with young outfielders, and this marks the third time in recent weeks that Dipoto has traded from that strength to help in other areas. The previous times were sending Tyler O’Neill to St. Louis acquire starter Marco Gonzales, and getting reliever David Phelps from Miami with a package that included center field prospect Brayan Hernandez.
Garton, 27, make his MLB debut with Tampa Bay in 2016 and has a 1.64 ERA in 24 games (33 innings) this year with Triple-A Durham. Over three stints this year with the Rays, he’s allowed 10 runs over 10 1/3 innings.
Marjama, 28, is hitting .274 with nine home runs and 51 RBIs in 72 games at Triple-A this year.
The Mariners also announced Sunday that former top pick D.J. Peterson has been claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox. Peterson was designated for assignment last week to make room on the 40-man roster for Leonys Martin when Seattle brought him back from Triple-A Tacoma.
