Nothing officially announced yet, but according to multiple sources, the Mariners have traded Michael Pineda to the Yankees in a deal that will bring catcher Jesus Montero, one of the best power prospects in baseball, to the Mariners.
Yes, it's a blockbuster.
According to Greg Johns of MLB.com (which I have confirmed), 19-year-old pitcher Jose Campos, a right-hander, will also go to the Yankees, and Hector Noesi, a right-handed pitcher, will come to Seattle. Noesi, 24, appeared in 30 games for the Yankees last year (two starts), and had a 4.47 ERA. Look for him to be a candidate for the back end of the Mariners rotation -- he started in the minors, and was the Yankees' No. 7-ranked prospect by Baseball America heading into last season.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thehotstoneleague/2017234244_big_mariners_trade_is_apparent.html
The response so far from a good portion of the M's fanbase has been less than pleasant. Switching back between KIRO and KJR made that perfectly clear. But I don't see the reason for it:
[1] Pineda was ours, and fans tend to like to hang on to their young prospects that they know. Which might explain why Yankees fans seem less than thrilled about losing Montero. Both players are very good young players with seemingly similar levels of talent.
[2] Adding Fielder was seemingly going nowhere. The longer the negotiations have gone on, the more likely it seems we are simply being used as leverage for deeper pocket teams like Texas and Washington. If we want to add Fielder, and he wants to play here, this deal certainly does not preclude that from happening.
[3] SP is an area of strength for this organization. With Hultzen/Walker/Paxton waiting in the wings, we had the ability to move a young talented SP without it being franchise crippling.
[4] Montero is a RH hitter. But who cares? Sure, Safeco favors lefties, but Montero has shown power to all fields. Our offense was terrible against LHP last year and we needed a RH hitter who can have a positive impact.
[5] I don't know why people see Pineda as a lock to be a stud SP. His slider/fastball combo is dominant, but his change-up most certainly isn't. As good as he was to start the year, once he went around the league and logged more innings he seemed far less effective to me as the season went on. Considering he's previously battled elbow problems, there may have been some good reasons to 'sell high.'
[6] Bringing FA power hitters here has been a huge struggle. SP? Not so much. If trading SP prospect to bring young hitters in is how we get good young hitters, then do it.
Overall, I like the trade. Sure, Campos has a lot of promise, but Noesi doesn't seem to be too far away from being a solid SP himself.