Report: Mariners trade for catcher Carlos Ruiz

8:50 pm Update: While the deal is still not official, Andy McCullough of the LA Times reports Vidal Nuno is the player the Mariners will send to the Dodgers in exchange for Carlos Ruiz.

While neither team has yet to confirm, it appears Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto has made his first non-waiver move of the offseason by acquiring veteran catcher Carlos Ruiz from the Dodgers. John Heyman broke the news of the trade, which Joel Sherman reports is for a pitcher on the Mariners’ 40-man roster.

The Dodgers held a $4.5 million club option for 2017 on Ruiz, who reportedly waived his no-trade clause enabling the deal.

Ruiz, 37, who was acquired by the Dodgers from the Phillies in late August, hit .264/.365/.348 in 2016 while walking 27 times and striking out 33. He caught 56 games last year and, in all likelihood, will serve as the second catcher behind Mike Zunino.

This could be the first of a number of moves this week with the general manager meetings set to get underway Tuesday in Scottsdale. Also, on Tuesday free agents become eligible to sign with any club. This time last year we saw Dipoto move quickly, targeting what he saw to be key additions in trade. He has stated multiple times that he prefers to make bigger moves via trade, and limit free agent signings to more complementary pieces. By all indications, he can now take backup catcher off his list.