Seattle Mariners August 30th, 2020 trade with San Diego will erase decades of bad trades
Joe Swenson
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As the Seattle Mariners prepare for the 2021 season, their deadline deal with San Diego last August looks more like a home run every day.
Over the last 23 years, the Seattle Mariners have been hard-luck losers at the trade deadline. It’s been one bad deal after another. Lately, things are getting better. As a matter of fact, the franchise had a watershed trade last August.
Mariners Don’t Have a Strong History of Winning Trades
The Mariners, before General Managers Jerry Dipoto’s arrival in the Emerald City, were terrible at making trades. Very rarely breaking even. It wasn’t always the case. Back in the early ’90s, several deals did work out for the M’s. For example, acquiring Jay Buhner from the Yankees and Randy Johnson from the Expos. Those trades worked out tremendously. But since then? Meh.
The downward spiral started on July 31st, 1997, when the Mariners traded away Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe to Boston for Heathcliff Slocumb. Varitek and Lowe went on to have very successful careers with the Red Sox. Then there was February 10th, 2000. On that inauspicious day, the Mariners traded away Ken Griffey Jr. for four players, including Mike Cameron. How amount February 8th, 2008? It was another mess when Seattle sent Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolito, and Tony Butler to the Orioles for Erik Bedard.
All of that has started to change. Dipoto made headlines by trading away Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz for Jarred Kelenic, Gerson Bautista, Justin Dunn, and Jay Bruce. While the jury is still out on that trade, the Paxton trade to the Yankees for Justus Sheffield, Erik Swanson, and Dom Thompson-Williams has proven to be a win. Especially since the M’s reacquired the Big Maple. However, the one that might erase all of the Mariners’ bad trade memories in one shot is the one from August 30th, 2020, with the San Diego Padres.
The Padres trade
There were four gems brought over in the San Diego Padres trade that Jerry Dipoto pulled off. Luis Torrens, Taylor Trammell, Ty France, and Andres Munoz were acquired for Austin Nola, Austin Adams, and Dan Altavilla. Nearly halfway through spring training, and there’s a chance that all four make the 26-man roster for opening day.
At the time, it looked like a trade that Dipoto had won. While Austin Nola’s Mariner cult-like status would sting a little and the potential of Austin Adams and Dan Altavilla in the bullpen would also hurt, now it looks like the Mariners really pulled off a coup-de-tat. This deal could end up being the kind of trade that sets the Mariners up for success for many years.