What Does Mariners Interest In Pomeranz Mean For Seth Smith?
The Mariners are targeting the Boston Red Sox starter, Drew Pomeranz, as a potential addition to the club. The trade talks between these two franchises have been going on since the winter meetings, and have reportedly involved Seth Smith. So does this mean that Smith could soon be a member of the Red Sox and Pomeranz, a member of the Mariners?
Bob Dutton of The News Tribune is reporting that GM Jerry Dipoto has reached out to the Boston Red Sox about acquiring starter, Drew Pomeranz.
For the Mariners to get their hands on the six-foot-six-inch towering left-hander, the M’s will have to give someone up to appease the Red Sox. That man appears to be Seth Smith who was linked to Red Sox during the winter meetings a couple of weeks back.
While it would be sad to see the patient Smith go -Smith saw 4.24 pitches per plate appearance in 2016, the eighth most in the league for players who took the field at least one hundred times- Dipoto has made it clear that he wants to give many young prospects a chance at the big league level, and the Mariners have recently acquired a great replacement for Smith in Mitch Haniger.
The real question is: with many possible trade options out there like Brandon McCarthy, Drew Smyly, and others; is Drew Pomeranz the best choice for the Mariners?
The fact that he is left-handed helps. The Mariners bullpen is flush with righties, and five of the seven possible starting options for the M’s right now are also right-handed.
One of them, Ariel Miranda would mostly likely move to the bullpen though if the M’s traded for another pitcher -if he wasn’t going to lose his job in the rotation already.
Pomeranz has had a mixed career but he did have a handful of highlights this past season.
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From May 1st-May 23rd, Pomeranz had an ERA of 0.87 and a batting average against of .126 over five games.
When he was traded to the Red Sox in the middle of the year from the San Diego Padres, he showed Bostontonians that he has a lot to offer. In his first six starts with the AL East team, Pomeranz had four quality starts while striking out six or more batters four times.
Yet, while it appeared he was throwing the ball superbly, he was also giving up too many free passes. Not only did Pomeranz allow multiple walks in twenty-one of his thirty-one appearances, but he surrendered four or more walks in four games in 2016.
That’s more four-walk games than Mariners starters, Ariel Miranda, Hisashi Iwakuma, and James Paxton combined.
So the trade may come to fruition, as it seems like both parties could get something they want out of a deal, but I wouldn’t expect Drew Pomeranz -a career 3.80 ERA, 1.1 HR/9, 3.7 BB/9 pitcher- to come to Seattle and be a lights-out hurler.
If he does eventually put on a Mariners uniform, he’ll still have to fight Nathan Karns and/or Chris Heston for a four or five spot in the rotation.
