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The Seattle Mariners acquired slugger Teoscar Hernandez in a commerce with the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday, fortifying a lineup in want of one other large bat as they attempt to catch the Houston Astros, their division rival and World Sequence champion.
Proper-handed reliever Erik Swanson and left-handed pitching prospect Adam Macko went to the Blue Jays, whose bullpen points final season had been most obvious in a 10-9 wild-card collection loss to the Mariners that ended their season.
Hernandez, 30, hit a pair of dwelling runs in that recreation and is a two-time Silver Slugger winner whose energy in proper discipline is unimpeachable. He hit .267/.316/.491 final season with 25 dwelling runs and 77 RBIs in 131 video games and may man proper discipline alongside the American League Rookie of the Yr winner, middle fielder Julio Rodriguez.
Toronto’s willingness to deal Hernandez has extra to do together with his contract standing than the standard of his play. He is because of hit free company after the 2023 season and is predicted to make round $14 million in arbitration. The Blue Jays, sources mentioned, plan to amass one other outfielder this offseason.
In Swanson and Macko, they added one arm anticipated to assist their bullpen this 12 months and one other with high-end-starter potential.
Swanson, 29, had a breakout 2022 season, placing up a 1.68 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 53⅔ innings. With a four-seam fastball that has near-perfect backspin and a split-fingered fastball that developed right into a strikeout weapon this 12 months, Swanson was an important a part of the Mariners’ bullpen — and can be a part of nearer Jordan Romano, Anthony Bass, Adam Cimber, Yimi Garcia, Zach Pop and Tim Mayza in a bullpen that might be a power for Toronto.
Macko, who turns 22 in December, struck out 60 over 38⅓ innings in Excessive-A this 12 months and encompasses a mid-90s fastball and a pair of breaking balls that give him vital upside. Born in Slovakia, he graduated from highschool in Vauxhall, a small city in Canada’s Alberta province, in 2019. The Mariners chosen him within the seventh spherical of the 2019 draft.
The Mariners may reap a further profit supplied Hernandez has a typical season: In the event that they tender him a qualifying provide following 2023 and he indicators elsewhere, Seattle would obtain a draft selection across the seventy fifth decide, with a slot worth of round $850,000.
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