Boston Red Sox Trade With Seattle Mariners Exchanges Pitchers [Breaking News]
Boston Red Sox trade rumors have lead to a deal with the Seattle Mariners. The Red Sox reportedly traded pitcher Wade Miley and pitching prospect Jonathan Aro to the Mariners in exchange for starting pitcher Roenis Elias and reliever Carson Smith. A report from MLB analyst Ken Rosenthal confirms that the two teams have agreed to the deal.
Since taking over as the new general manager of the Seattle Mariners, Jerry Dipoto has been extremely active in making moves. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, that includes trading away many players who started for the team last season and signing several free agents to fill holes on the roster. After Hisashi Iwakuma decided to sign a free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, it seems Dipoto wanted to move quickly to add a new starting pitcher to the rotation.
Wade Miley is a 29-year-old left-handed starting pitcher who had been discussed in many recent Boston Red Sox trade rumors. The team had acquired him from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the previous MLB offseason, inserting him immediately into the starting rotation. During one season with the Red Sox, Miley posted a 4.46 ERA, 1.368 WHIP, and an 11-11 record over 32 starts. That included 147 strikeouts and 64 walks over 193 2/3 innings of work.
Miley has a contract that will pay him about $6.2 million in the 2016 MLB season and then just under $9 million in 2017. The Mariners will now have a team option of $12 million for the 2018 season that comes with a $500,000 buyout. It is expected that he will take the rotation spot that Roenis Elias is giving up by going to the Red Sox.
Roenis Elias pitched two seasons for the Seattle Mariners, posting a 3.97 ERA, 1.308 WHIP, and 15-20 record over 51 games. He has 279 career innings pitched, in which he had 240 strikeouts and 108 walks. Elias comes with a lot of team control for the Red Sox, as he hasn’t even reached the arbitration stage of his career.
The other component of this Boston Red Sox trade with the Mariners is that the team acquires potential closer Carson Smith in exchange for pitching prospect Jonathan Aro. Smith has pitched parts of two seasons for the Mariners, posting a 2.07 ERA and 0.970 WHIP over 78 1/3 innings of relief. At one time, he served as the closer for the Mariners and has a rate of 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings. He could be in competition for eighth or ninth inning duties for the Red Sox now.
Jonathan Aro saw just 10 1/3 innings of work for the Red Sox. In six games, he had an ERA of 6.97 and a WHIP of 1.839. The 25-year-old right-hander was an international free agent who signed with the Red Sox and quickly moved up the system. Aro should get a shot in Spring Training to make the 25-man roster for the Mariners if Dipoto doesn’t work to deal him to another team.
Though this Boston Red Sox trade with the Seattle Mariners might seem odd when it comes to trading one starting pitcher and one reliever for one other starting pitcher and reliever, it makes sense to the general managers of each team. After losing Hisashi Iwakuma, the Mariners had to figure out something with the starting rotation, but dealing a young starting pitcher for a veteran starting pitcher might be a tough sell for fans.
This likely won’t be the last move that Jerry Dipoto makes to shuffle the Seattle Mariners’ roster this offseason. Recent rumors suggest the team is now targeting Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Adam Lind. As for the Boston Red Sox trade rumors about trying to improve the pitching staff, acquiring young assets like Roenis Elias and Carson Smith could certainly help long-term efforts.
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