Winker, Suarez traded to M’s

The Cincinnati Reds have traded OF/DH Jesse Winker and third baseman Eugenio Suarez to the Seattle Mariners for Justin Dunn, Jake Fraley, Brandon Williamson and a player to be named later, it was announced today.

For the Rangers, who are looking to get back to relevance, if not necessarily contention, this year, this is of note, since it provides a divisional foe a quality bat for their lineup in Winker. Suarez, meanwhile, is largely salary ballast, being owed around $30 million over the next two years on a contract that looked good for Cincy when it was signed, but which is now problematic after Suarez has been replacement level the past two years.

Winker is a lefthanded hitting outfielder who is limited defensively, but who has blossomed at the plate in the past two seasons, putting up a 932 OPS in the truncated 2020 season, then following it up with a 949 OPS in 485 plate appearances in 2021, which earned him an All Star berth.

Presumably, Cincy accepted a lower return in order to get Suarez and his deal off their books. Williamson is the big get here, a righthanded pitcher who turns 24 next month, and who was the Mariners’ second round pick out of TCU in 2019. He split the 2021 season between high-A and AA, and snuck into the back portion of the BA top 100 list.

Dunn, 26, is a righthanded pitcher who was the Mets’ first round pick in 2016, and was sent to the M’s as part of the Robinson Cano trade. Dunn pitched decently when on the mound for Seattle in 2021, but landed on the injured list in August with a strained shoulder that kept him on the shelf the rest of the season.

Fraley, 26, was the Tampa Bay Rays’ second round pick out of LSU in 2016, and went to Seattle after the 2018 season as part of the Mike Zunino trade. He’s a fourth outfielder type.