Mariners Acquire Blake Hunt And I Like It. Here's Why.
The Seattle Mariners made their first player for player trade of the off-season. It's not massive, but could be a window into how the team will approach the winter.
Jerry season has officially begun. The Mariners actually made some headlines today, although nothing that most people will remember tomorrow. The club is in the market for a new bullpen coach as Stephen Vogt was officially hired to be the new manager of the Cleveland Guardians. Teoscar Hernandez was not tendered the qualifying offer, a move that is oddly controversial amongst Mariners fans. But the most impactful headline of the day came in the form of a relatively minor trade.
Seattle sent High-A catcher Tatem Levins to the Rays in exchange for catcher Blake Hunt. A former second-round pick, Hunt is a name that may sound familiar to those who pay attention to the prospect circle. He was a part of the trade package that landed the Padres Blake Snell and sat inside the Tampa Bay Rays Top 30 prospects according to MLB Pipeline (he currently sits at 23 in my Mariners prospect ranks).
Hunt is an interesting get for Seattle. He’s 25 years old, is a solid thrower from behind the plate, earns high praise for his framing abilities, and is said to work well with his pitching staff. There’s some bat speed at the plate, suggesting there is more power than we’ve seen from Hunt in games. He did set a career-high with 12 homers in 281 PAs across AA and AAA while posting 111 and 100 wRC+ in those leagues.
There’s nothing particularly exciting about Hunt, but Seattle desperately needed to upgrade the catching depth in the organization. As things stand right now, Hunt would be the backup to Cal Raleigh, but reports indicate that Seattle isn’t ruling out bringing back clubhouse favorite Tom Murphy. If Murphy does return, Seattle is wise to have a viable backup catcher in AAA with a high floor and reasonable upside, something Brian O’Keefe just wasn’t able to provide.
With all that being said, why do I like this move so much? Aside from the obvious (it’s good value) it shows that Seattle is cognizant of the weaknesses of their system. It understands that having a warm body isn’t the same as having depth. And it shows that the team might be willing to go outside of the organization for these players, instead of hoping they can pull another Jose Caballero out of their hat.
Seattle has a long way to go. And being willing to trade a player who probably wasn’t going to help for somebody who probably can isn’t a reason to celebrate. But it isn’t anything to bash either. There isn’t a single thing wrong or objectionable with the move. It makes total sense. But that won’t stop the more jaded fan group from waiving their “same old Mariners” banners.
Seattle got better today. And they aren’t done. It’s day 5 of the off-season. As Jake Taylor once said to Ricky Vaughn in Major League “We’ve got 162 of these to go”. Adding around the margins, raising the floor of a position group, and making smart, well-reasoned trades, are always worth the effort. Even if they don’t make Twitter explode with euphoria.