Fantasy Impact of Mariners and Rays 6-Player Trade
By Bill Pivetz
It didn’t take long for the first offseason trade to take place. Four days after the conclusion of the World Series, the Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays agreed to a six-player trade on Thursday. The Rays receive IF/OF Brad Miller, 1B Logan Morrison and P Danny Farquhar in exchange for P Nate Karns, P C.J. Riefenhauser and minor-league player Boog Powell. There are some significant names here, so let’s break down the fantasy impact of this trade.
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The biggest impact is Miller joining the Rays. In 144 games with the Mariners, he hit 11 home runs, 46 RBI and a .258 average. He also stole 13 bases. He is also a utility player, something the Rays are very familiar with. He played 89 games at shortstop this season, which all but confirms that Asdrubal Cabrera will not be back with the team next year. The shortstop position is not as deep as the others, so Miller is a top-15 option as a member of the Rays.
The second piece is Morrison. He played in 146 games this season, hitting 17 home runs, 54 RBI and a .225 average. He has some power, but that low average does not make him an attractive first-base option in fantasy. The benefit to the Rays is that they get a left-handed hitter in their lineup.
On the other side of the trade, the Mariners fill out their starting rotation with Karns. He made 26 starts this season. He went 7-5 with a 3.69 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 8.88 K/9 and 3.43 BB/9 in 144.0 innings. Seattle Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto said, “I don’t think we had a complete starting rotation to begin with, so this is addressing a need.” Karns joins Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, Taijuan Walker and, most likely, Roenis Elias.
Powell is the most exciting part of this trade. Between Double- and Triple-A, he had 131 hits with 40 RBI, 18 stolen bases, .295 average and .385 on-base percentage. That kind of patience is something that you don’t see very often in young players. That along with the speed can put Powell at the top of the Mariners’ lineup.
While none of these players are of the superstar caliber, they make a fantasy impact. Miller removes Cabrera from a job, Morrison is likely the Rays’ DH, Karns is at the back-end of the Mariners rotation and Powell is a prospect to watch entering Spring Training.
This is just the first trade of many to take place this offseason.