Segura, Haniger traded to Mariners; Walker, Marte to Dbacks

[Eye Black]

LINK: The Diamondbacks have announced that they’ve acquired starter Taijuan Walker and Ketel Marte from the Mariners for Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger and Zac Curtis.

[brewmann04]

wow looks like the new gm there is getting busy

[Eye Black]

Funny to think how amazing that trade would have looked on paper for the Brewers at mid-season in 2014.

[LouisEly]

Funny to think how amazing that trade would have looked on paper for the Brewers at mid-season in 2014.

[sarcasm]The Brewers could have had a top 20 prospect!![/sarcasm]

[trwi7]

Seems to me like the Mariners overpaid for production that I don't think Segura can sustain.

[danzig6767]

Seems to me like the Mariners overpaid for production that I don't think Segura can sustain.

 

And Arizona has to hope that Walker can be closer to his minor league hype than the mediocre pitcher he's been so far in the majors.

[reillymcshane]

Dbacks are selling high on Segura and Haniger. Interesting move. I feel as if Seattle is going to be disappointed in the end - but you never know.

 

Walker is kind of an enigma who might implode in Arizona. The ballpark there is pretty heavily a hitters park (2nd most runs scored in the league after Coors - http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/parkfactor ), and Walker gives up a lot of HRs - 25 and 27 the last two years (in 169.2 and 134.1 innings, respectively).

 

This is one of those deals where you never know how it's going to end. Perhaps they all end up being disappointed.

[Eye Black]

Some nice praise for Mitch Haniger on Twitter...

 

Christopher Crawford (@Crawford_MILB): Also, Mitch Haniger won't get talked about much, but, I kinda like him. Above-average power, good plate discipline, strong arm.

Dave Cameron (@DCameronFG): Walker/Segura going to get the headlines, but Haniger could be the wild card in this deal. If he’s a legit CF, could be best player in deal.

Mariners (@Mariners): #Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto: "We see Mitch Haniger as a high-ceiling prospect who projects to join our outfield as soon as next season."

[jerichoholicninja]

[sarcasm]I thought Jack Z got fired?[/sarcasm]

 

Talent wise I'd say the Dbacks got the best of the deal but it was rather even. However, the Mariners trading young pitching for a guy who just had a career year with little control left seems rather stupid. Especially when you consider Segura is really a 2B now and they already have one of those who's not going anywhere anytime soon.

[TURBO]

Maybe the Mariners have just plain given up on Walker and want to dump him while there might still be some shine left on him? It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out, but I'm not expecting Segura to have the numbers he had last year in the Mariners park, that's for sure.

[StearnsFTW]

Seems like a pretty bad trade for Seattle. Walker has potential to be a #2 starter. As mentioned though, I'm not sure he's mentally tough enough to pitch in Arizona.

[homer]

Obviously a "win now" move for Seattle. AZ just trying to re-tool after the Stewart fiasco.

 

Looks to me like AZ got the better end of the deal but all depends on how Walker fares. Definitely sold high on Segura and bought low on Walker.

[brewcrewdue80]

Never prior to last season would Milwaukee had gotten Walker for Segura. And I get they may like Haniger but Segura's 2015 was so atrocious I'd imagine both Haniger and Segura wouldn't have gotten Marte prior to 2016.

I think this is a major win for the Diamondbacks. The talent is real in Walker, a guy that's only 24. Thrown CG 3hit shutout in Sept with 11Ks. Had an 8IP 3hit 0ER 11k 10 starts before that. Yes 27HRs is a lot, but happened pitching in the AL. 41 of 75 total runs given up in those HRs. You know who else gave up a lot of HRs? Marco Estrada, who's been under 3.5ERA over 53starts, the last 2 seasons removed from Milwaukee.

 

Then there's Ketel Marte, who's youngest in this deal and with 2 part time MLB seasons to his credit. Switch hitter and numbers that would suggest a Segura type of player stats. Younger and more team control for the same type of player who's still gotta come in to his own. Marte like Segura hit the majors running. Worth over 2WAR in 57games in 2015. Plus, defensive rating, so just a small bump in offensive numbers and he's easily worth a roster spot.

Far higher ceilings in these two than what Haniger and Segura offer. I don't think Segura could have a better year than what he did in 2016 which was already beyond the ceiling you'd have given him.

Haniger while I'm happy with him, I don't have high ceiling attached to him, more higher floor. He did have a remarkable AAA season in 2016 so as like Segura, maybe a small batting stance adjustment and he's taken off? To essentially double your career HR in a season from any prior leaves question to will he maintain that. We'll see.

 

We'll see how it turns out for both teams. At the very least this has the makings of an equal value potential. If Walker is a 3.70ERA pitcher and Segura a 4-ish WAR SS. I'd imagine Haniger/Marte can equal out in comparison. But if ceilings are attained this is going to be a huge win by the DBacks.

[TooLiveBrew]

@Mariners: #Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto: "We see Mitch Haniger as a high-ceiling prospect who projects to join our outfield as soon as next season."

That's a head scratcher of a quote to me. I know he wants to praise the new players, but Haniger's entering his age-26 season, hasn't been particularly impressive at the higher levels of the minors overall (& keep in mind the western part of the PCL is notorious for greatly inflating offensive stats) and I never remember reading anything about him when he was with the Crew that indicated he could handle CF full time.

 

I know he was praised a lot for his makeup & approach, & seems like a 'baseball guy's baseball guy'. But that quote just stuck out to me as being way embellished.

 

I'll be interested to see how Segura plays at SafeCo. He's almost certain to regress from the career year he had in 2016, but SafeCo's spacious outfield should mean a lot of room for singles & gap shots. Even if his offense takes a dip from last year, his swing might fit that park pretty well.

[trwi7]

but SafeCo's spacious outfield should mean a lot of room for singles & gap shots. Even if his offense takes a dip from last year, his swing might fit that park pretty well.

 

Safeco has one of the smaller outfields in MLB.

[TooLiveBrew]

but SafeCo's spacious outfield should mean a lot of room for singles & gap shots. Even if his offense takes a dip from last year, his swing might fit that park pretty well.

 

Safeco has one of the smaller outfields in MLB.

 

Nothing to see here...

[Eye Black]

@Mariners: #Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto: "We see Mitch Haniger as a high-ceiling prospect who projects to join our outfield as soon as next season."

That's a head scratcher of a quote to me. I know he wants to praise the new players, but Haniger's entering his age-26 season, hasn't been particularly impressive at the higher levels of the minors overall (& keep in mind the western part of the PCL is notorious for greatly inflating offensive stats) and I never remember reading anything about him when he was with the Crew that indicated he could handle CF full time.

 

I know he was praised a lot for his makeup & approach, & seems like a 'baseball guy's baseball guy'. But that quote just stuck out to me as being way embellished.

I agree, the "high ceiling prospect" tag seems exaggerated. The narrative with Haniger is that he completely rebuilt his swing over the past year (LINK) with a series of changes that have reportedly led to more power with greater ability to hit to all fields and recognize pitches. This Fangraphs Article does an excellent job of recapping some of the advances Haniger has made. While he didn't have a great MLB debut, I found it interesting that in terms of average exit velocity, last year Haniger ranked in the 95th percentile in the majors. I am curious to see if the new swing and approach produce successful results in the majors over the coming years.

[TooLiveBrew]

Thanks for sharing that, Eye Black. It'll be interesting to see if Haniger is indeed a late bloomer