The Mariners made the expected roster moves following the trades of Brandon League and Steve Delabar yesterday. To make room for Eric Thames, the Mariners sent down very free-swinging Carlos Peguero back to Tacoma, and to replace the two open bullpen spots the Mariners recalled hard throwing righty Stephen Pryor and strikeout specialist Carter Capps.
Pryor was the Mariners fifth round draft pick in 2010. He already appeared in a few games through June this year, giving up one run over 5.1 innings pitched. His greatest claim to fame at the moment is that his first win came in the combined no-hitter the Mariners pitched against the Dodgers on June 8th. Pryor is one of the more entertaining prospects in the Mariners bullpen, almost solely because his fastball can reach triple digits occasionally.
Capps was drafted by the Mariners in the third round of the 2011 draft. He is pretty much vaulting straight pass AAA after striking out three of the four batters he faced. He was closing in AA, racking up 19 saves and posting 13 strikeouts per nine innings.
Peguero was clearly struggling in his stint again in the major leagues, posting a .146 batting average and striking out in over 50% of his plate appearances (Adam Dunn eat your heart out). He will go back to Tacoma and continue to probably club the threads off the ball until his inevitable recall back up to the squad with roster expansions in September.
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The Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays made a late trade on Monday night. So the Mariners not only acquired a few prospects for Brandon League from the Los Angeles Dodgers, but they also traded relief pitcher Steve Delabar away for outfielder Eric Thames. Thames has been hitting well in triple-A although he struggled during his stint in the majors and had to be demoted back.
Without a scouting report and going just on the numbers, Thames' skillset at the moment profiles a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, but excellent at none. He can draw a walk, he can hit for power and he can hit for average. His rates are all around the league averages. For someone young and with little experience, that's encouraging. Hopefully there's growth potential still untapped. For a power relief pitcher with limited track record, this strikes me as a fair swap.
Delabar has had trouble trying to take right handers out, and often has given up too many home runs. There are too many pitchers in the Seattle rotation who appear to fit that profile and could be a closer, so Delabar was probably considered as a pitcher they had the luxury of letting go when everything was said and done.
The Seattle Mariners have finally dealt Brandon League after the rumors started surfacing a few days ago. The trade was announced by the Mariners organization just a little while ago, and it ends up sending League to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two prospects. The Mariners have now completed a cycle that started with drafting Brandon Morrow, who turned into League in a trade, who now turns into prospects.
League has an ERA of 3.71 with a record of 17-26 with 275 strikeouts and 54 walks. The two prospects the Mariners receive are outfielder Leon Landry and right handed pitcher Logan Bawcom. Landry is batting .328 when he was at Rancho Cucamonga at the Dodgers A+ affiliate. Bawcom has appeared in 27 games with the Chattanooga Lookouts and posted a 2.60 ERA overall.
