The Seattle Mariners traded outfielder Michael Saunders to the Toronto Blue Jays for starting pitcher JA Happ, moving one of the longest tenured players on the team for depth in the starting rotation and this move comes as the team signed outfielder Nelson Cruz to a free agent contract.
According to ESPN.com, the Mariners moved Saunders following another injury plagued season and now the Canadian born Saunders will play for a team in his home nation. Happ was solid as a rookie, but last season he had a 4.22 ERA in 158 innings and this deal could come back to haunt the Mariners. Saunders has not been able to stay healthy, but he has been productive when he is in the lineup and now the Blue Jays have put together a deep group in the AL.
The Mariners missed the playoffs by one game this past season and they just signed Cruz to join a lineup that already has Robinson Cano. The team signed Kyle Seager to a $100 million extension and they are in "win now" mode, which is one reason why Jack Z went after some starting pitching. Melky Cabrera is on the free agent market and he could be a potential target, while the team has been connected to Matt Kemp in trade rumors. The team now has a major need for another outfield even after signing Cruz, as they have Austin Jackson and Dustin Ackley as starters.
The Mariners have made these types of moves before, trading a player with value for completely arbitrary reasons for a player with lesser value, as the names like Erik Bedard, Doug Fister and John Jaso will make fans cringe. The good folks at Lookout Landing put this very well in a few articles and posts on Twitter, with one titled: "Happ-less Mariners make bad trade, dump Saunders" and "The Mariners have traded Michael Saunders for J.A. Happ. Yes, it's that bad."
The Mariners and their fans know these types of deals all too well and one can only hope that if the team makes the playoffs this is just a footnote in the story. Saunders has shown signs of being a strong player, but he has been injured quite a bit in his career and now he heads to his home nation of Canada to play for the Blue Jays. The Mariners and Saunders appeared to be heading for a split after some comments made by the front office and Saunders' agent separately and now the deal is done.