Seattle Mariners: Reviewing the Kendall Graveman trade 2 weeks later
Why mess with chemistry?
The Mariners weren’t going to win a world series. At least that wasn’t in the realm of even the most ardent Seattle fan. Making the playoffs? That is the most important thing to most M’s fans. That and praying that all of the prospects the Mariners have will pan out.
Teams need leadership to get there. The infield has Kyle Seager, the outfield has Mitch Haniger, the starting rotation has Marco Gonzalez, and the bullpen had Graveman. These leaders are the guys who keep the rest of the Mariners pumped up, motivated and stop them from getting down.
Oher deadline moves
Dipoto removed one of those leaders. He added Pirates starting pitcher in Tyler Anderson to an ailing rotation. Then came his “watch this” move. The M’s sent reliever J.T. Chargois and a prospect to Tampa Bay in exchange for sometimes closer Diego Castillo. The trade made almost no sense at all on the Rays side. They gave up a really good reliever, and the price for Seattle was nothing.
4-8 record since the trade
A team is the sum of its parts. On paper, the Mariners basically traded Graveman and Chargois for Abraham Toro and Castillo. The goal of a Major League Baseball team is that you score more runs than your opponent as many times as you can. Since the trade, Toro has been lights out. He’s hitting .386 with a 1.142 OPS in 50 at-bats with Seattle. Those are impressive numbers, but the Mariners are 4-8 in those games. What’s missing is a reliable bullpen.
Abraham Toro: 11 hits since that trade
Kendall Graveman: 9 batters faced since that trade
Then again…
Mariners: 2 blown saves in 9th since that trade https://t.co/F985OWesYB
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) August 4, 2021