M’s acquire Hernandez from Jays

The Seattle Mariners have traded for Teoscar Hernandez from the Toronto Blue Jays, it has been announced this morning. In exchange, the Jays are getting reliever Erik Swanson and pitching prospect Adam Macko from Seattle.

The 30 year old Hernandez put up a .267/.316/.491 slash line as the Jays’ regular right fielder in 2022, good for a 2.8 bWAR. He won Silver Slugger Awards in 2020 and 2021, and had a .283/.333/.519 slash line over the past three years. Seattle has had issues with their outfield production of late, so this helps fill a need for the M’s. Hernandez is in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and is slated to be a free agent after the 2023 season.

Former Ranger prospect Erik Swanson has been part of the M’s bullpen since the 2019 season, and had a terrific year in 2022, putting up a 1.68 ERA in 53.2 IP. The righthander is in his first year of arbitration eligibility, and has three seasons of team control remaining.

Macko is a smallish Canadian lefthander who was drafted in the 7th round in 2019 out of high school. He hasn’t pitched much — he has just 95 innings in affiliate ball, plus 13 innings in the AFL last month — but his stock has apparently risen some, with MLB Pipeline slated to have him 12th in the M’s system prior to this deal.