Not as thrilling as the rumors: Mariners trade for Justin Ruggiano
Nothing’s come to fruition yet on the first two. But the last one, well, that happened but the hype didn’t match the outcome. It’s a lesson in how wild our imaginations get this time of year.
The Mariners on Wednesday acquired platoon outfield Justin Ruggiano from the Cubs, in a mostly ho-hum deal that’s not going to make the Hot Stove burst into flames. Ruggiano is a nice enough player — he should help the Mariners against lefty pitchers — but he’s not what people were hoping for when the rumor mill starting spinning.
It started with this tweet from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, totally innocent, but a jolt that awoke our imaginations.
The Mariners do need an outfield bat and they’ve been rumored in trade talks for Kemp and Justin Upton. They were said to be pursuing Melky Cabrera before he signed with the Chicago White Sox. Maybe there were after Marlon Byrd? They could use an upgrade at shortstop too. Maybe Ian Desmond? Then the Twitter pundits started to wonder if the rumored Myers trade could be a three-way deal and he could be going to Seattle.
Hey now, that’s some sexy trade talk right there. Reality, of course, often isn’t as good as fantasy. Especially when you’re playing MLB trade matchmaker this time of year. Sometimes a team — in this case, the Mariners — is looking for a role player and we, the Hot Stove gawkers, get carried away with our theories.
As for the particulars of the actual trade that was consummated: The Cubs are getting back Matt Brazis, a pitching prospect who spent last season between Single-A and Double-A, with a 2.36 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 72.2 innings. Ruggiano, 32, is versatile and can play all over the outfield, which is something the Mariners say they like about him. With the Cubs last year, he hit .281/.337/.429 with six homers and 28 RBIs in 82 games.
So yeah, he’s not Justin Upton. Sorry, Mariners fans. But he’ll probably help your team. He has a career .836 OPS against left-handed pitching, so a platoon could very well be in Ruggiano’s future and be to Seattle’s benefit.
ESPN’s Krasnick, who you’ll recall started this entire conversation, must have been hearing it from Mariners fans who had dreamed a little too big. Shortly after the Ruggiano trade was official, he tweeted this:
Don’t worry, Hot Stove rumormongers and rumor digesters, there’s plenty more to rampantly speculate about. What if the Mariners are STILL trading for another outfielder? What if Matt Kemp DID fail his physical? What if the supposed Wil Myers trade is a FIVE team trade now?
We’ve still got months of this ahead. Go crazy.
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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
