After their center fielders finished 26th in WAR in 2015, per FanGraphs, the Seattle Mariners decided to upgrade their available options.
Seattle confirmed it traded pitcher Tom Wilhelmsen, outfielder James Jones and a player to be named later to the Texas Rangers for Leonys Martin and pitcher Anthony Bass on Monday.
Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan was the first to report the deal. According to Passan, the Mariners have been looking for a new center fielder early into the offseason and ultimately landed on Martin. Rosenthal provided some more context for the move:
Delino DeShields Jr. had a promising rookie season in 2015, which likely played into Texas’ decision to jettison Martin. The Rangers also have Lewis Brinson waiting in the wings. The 21-year-old hit .332 with 20 home runs and 68 runs batted in while in the minors last year.
Wilhelmsen addresses a bigger need for the Rangers after their relievers posted a combined 4.12 earned run average (24th) and 4.26 FIP (26th), per FanGraphs. Texas learned the value of a good bullpen after surrendering leads in Games 3 and 5 of the American League Division Series.
Wilhelmsen took a slight step backward last year, finishing with a 3.14 ERA, but he should fit perfectly into a setup role for Texas in 2016.
And as good as the 31-year-old right-hander was, Seattle could afford to lose him, especially after it acquired Joaquin Benoit and Nathan Karns in separate deals. ESPN.com’s Tristan H. Cockcroft believes the Mariners got good value in the trade:
Martin is undoubtedly an upgrade over Brad Miller, whom the Mariners traded to the Tampa Bay Rays at the beginning of November.
Sports Illustrated‘s Joe Sheehan likes Martin’s fit in Seattle:
The 27-year-old is unlikely to bring a lot of offense to the Mariners. Martin had a .219/.264/.313 slash line last year while dealing with a wrist injury, and he rarely displayed much power, hitting 20 home runs in 429 games with the Rangers.
Still, between his defense and baserunning, Martin will provide a lot of value to Seattle in 2016, bolstering the team’s playoff hopes next season.
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