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June 4, 2015

Transaction Analysis

Collecting Brute and Flipping Beef

by R.J. Anderson, Christopher Crawford and Mike Gianella

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IN THIS ISSUE

American League
National League

SEATTLE MARINERS
Team Audit | Player Cards | Depth Chart
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Acquired OF-­R Mark Trumbo and LHP Vidal Nuno from the Diamondbacks in exchange for C­-R Welington Castillo, RHP Dominic Leone, OF­-R Gabby Guerrero, and INF­-R Jack Reinheimer. [6/3]

Trumbo's profile is well known: he's a bat-first player without an elite bat. Between his (admittedly improving) strikeout and infield-fly tendencies, he doesn't have much hope of hitting for a good average. Add in his reluctance to walk, and you have a batter who depends upon his slugging percentage for most of his value. Consider it a testament to Trumbo's strength that he's been able to pull it off so far, finishing with a better-than-average OPS in three of the last four seasons.

The trouble with Trumbo in Seattle is the same problem with Trumbo in Los Angeles and Arizona; put simply, he doesn't fit the roster well. The best possible situation would see Trumbo placed at first base or designated hitter, where he could hit his 20-30 home runs in relative peace. Yet the Mariners figure to place him in left field, where he'll be a perceptible downgrade from Dustin Ackley. The fans won't mind, though, since Trumbo will also be a perceptible upgrade offensively—possibly to the point where the gains exceed the losses. Still, at some point you'd like to see him land on a team where he isn't asked to play beyond his means defensively; maybe after the 2016 season, when he qualifies for free agency?

The Mariners' recent search for starting pitching help included recalling Mike Montgomery and stretching out Danny Farquhar. Nuno is no great shakes—he's a few lost feet on his fastball away from being called a junkballer—but at least he's stretched out and possesses some previous success starting in the majors. In a place like Safeco, he just might do enough to pass as a no. 5 starter. —R.J. Anderson

Fantasy Impact

Mark Trumbo
Trumbo’s playing time won’t change much, and he actually might gain a little playing time removed from the outfield logjam in Arizona. However, he is moving from one of the better power parks in major league baseball to one of the worst. It isn’t like Trumbo does nothing but scrape the fences with his home runs, but a 3-5 home run drop the rest of the way seems like a fairly reasonable expectation. The move to the American League West also doesn’t help, as the Angels and Athletics also play in pitchers’ parks that tamp down home runs across the division.

Vidal Nuno
Steve Gilbert of MLB.com is reporting that Nuno will join the Mariners rotation, so Nuno’s value immediately jumps up after the trade. He is still only an AL-only consideration or at best a streamer in deeper missed, but Nuno’s skill set will be helped a good deal by the move to Safeco. His fly ball tendencies will be a nice fit for his new home venue, and Nuno could post something in the neighborhood of $6-8 earnings in AL-only if he sticks in the Mariners rotation.

Dustin Ackley
Justin Ruggiano and Rickie Weeks are also hurt by the Trumbo acquisition, but Ackley is the player who stands to lose the most at bats. Ackley wasn’t worth starting anywhere but AL-only based on the way he had played to date, but if you were using him in that format, the 8-10 home runs that you were hoping to get the rest of the season will need to be replaced. —Mike Gianella

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Team Audit | Player Cards | Depth Chart
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Acquired C­-R Welington Castillo, RHP Dominic Leone, OF-­R Gabby Guerrero, and INF-­R Jack Reinheimer from the Mariners in exchange for OF­-R Mark Trumbo and LHP Vidal Nuno. [6/3]

It feels like Castillo has been destined for Arizona dating back to last November, when the D'backs traded Miguel Montero to the Cubs, and nothing—not even Castillo being shipped to the Mariners two weeks ago—was going to prevent these two from coming together.

Castillo is the same feller he was then. At his best he's a league-average hitter with a tolerable defensive profile. You can nitpick his flaws—his poor framing, his shaky numbers against righties, his low walk rates, and so—but the bar has been set low in Arizona; Tuffy Gosewich and Oscar Hernandez are mitt-first types who aren't healthy, while Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jordan Pacheco are bat-first types who haven't hit all season. Lovely. Castillo provides Chip Hale with the best combination of offense and defense. Given that he's under team control through the 2017 season, he could be a long-term fix.

Leone too could play an important part on future Diamondbacks squads. Despite pitching well last season for the Mariners, he failed to make the club's Opening Day roster. He's since split the year between the majors and minors, all the while struggling with his command. If Leone's location improves, his fastball-cutter combination is good enough to play in the late innings. Based on his past, he's worth the time and effort it'll take to get him straightened out. —R.J. Anderson

Guerrero is more famous for being the nephew of should-be-future Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, and while it’s extremely unlikely he becomes anywhere good as his uncle, he did offer as much offensive upside as any hitter in the Seattle system not named Alex Jackson—including D.J. Peterson and Austin Wilson. He just doesn’t have anywhere near the floor of any of those names. His calling-card is his bat speed—just like Unky Vlad—and when everything is moving in sync, that bat speed, along with strong hips, gives him the chance for plus power. Unfortunately, he also makes his uncle look like Edgar Martinez when it comes to patience at the plate, so that power and hit tool play down from at least a grade. He’s a good outfielder with a cannon for an arm, and he should be able to handle right field just fine. He’s a potential above-average regular if he can show more patience at the plate, but because there’s so much swing-and-miss here without the added bonus of walks, it’s just as likely he’s an organizational piece.

Reinheimer doesn’t have anywhere near the tools that Guerrero does offensively, but he’s the more likely prospect to make a big league roster, with a slim chance of becoming an everyday shortstop. The 2013 fifth-round pick out of East Carolina is a solid, if unspectacular, defender at shortstop with average range that plays up because of his instincts in the field and above-average throwing arm. The power is below-average at best, as his swing incorporates very little of his lower half and he doesn’t have the frame to do much more than put a few balls into the outfield gaps. However, his willingness to go the other way and solid bat-to-barrel skills give him a chance for an average hit tool, with fringe-average a more likely landing spot. It’s not the sexy skill set that Guerrero offers—and he was the least talented player involved in the trade—but he certainly wasn’t just a throw-in. —Christopher Crawford

Fantasy Impact

Welington Castillo
Another week, another trade for the catcher we all affectionately call “Beef”. Castillo moves from a job share in Seattle to a situation where he could potentially do most of the catching in Arizona. The batting average will likely be low, but Castillo’s power potential is tantalizing in any fantasy league that utilizes a two-catcher format. A 10-15 home run pace isn’t out of the question if Castillo gets most of the starts.

Dominic Leone
Leone moves into a more unsettled bullpen situation in Arizona, but needs his control issues fixed before he can make any kind of impact for the Diamondbacks, let alone put himself into position to close should Brad Ziegler falter.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Even if Castillo doesn’t start and it is only a job share behind the plate, Salty’s fantasy value still takes a slight hit.

Ender Inciarte, David Peralta, A.J. Pollock
All three outfielders stand to gain more playing time with Trumbo leaving town, but the big winner out of this trio is Peralta. He should play regularly now, and while Peralta certainly isn’t a world beater by any stretch of the imagination, he could still be relevant in deeper mixed and NL-only formats.


R.J. Anderson is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
Click here to see R.J.'s other articles. You can contact R.J. by clicking here
Christopher Crawford is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
Click here to see Christopher's other articles. You can contact Christopher by clicking here
Mike Gianella is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
Click here to see Mike's other articles. You can contact Mike by clicking here

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