Here is what he says about the potential trade:
"Let’s be honest: The Mariners have a type.
They go on and on about the virtues of controlling or dominating the strike zone and they’re not wrong for doing so, honestly. Offensively, this equates to more walks, fewer strikeouts. They like bat-to-ball guys (if they can get them). And they are big on run prevention.
Friends, Espinal would be a nice fit — and a nice start — to kick off this offseason. Let me tell you why.
Espinal is 27 but is coming off a 2.3 fWAR season. He can play shortstop and third base as well but the Mariners would slide him into second base and let him go. Espinal is a .280 hitter in just over 800 major-league plate appearances and a .286 hitter in the minors.
He has a 14 percent strikeout rate and an 8 percent walk rate for his career. And he is a very good defender wherever you put him. How good, you ask?
Espinal was plus-four in defensive runs saved this past season. Two years ago, he played third base for the Jays and was a plus-eight. Plus-eight is elite.
Is this the sexy move you were hoping for? No, probably not. Will it make the Mariners better in 2023? It should, though a lot of that depends on what else the team does. This is just a start.
What you’ve done by adding Espinal — who will likely make a shade over $2 million in 2023 — is add a steady bat toward the bottom of the order.
I think adding an everyday player you control for four more years is a good way to maximize Flexen’s value. Flexen will be a free agent after 2023, so adding Murfee, who had a breakout year in 2022, to the deal makes sense from Toronto’s end even if it leaves a hole in Seattle’s bullpen.
But remember, the Mariners hope to get Casey Sadler back sometime in 2023 and there are ways to cover for Murfee’s loss moving forward. The Mariners have their warts like any other team. Assembling a capable bullpen isn’t one of them.
Melean is a 22-year-old righty who had a 3.34 ERA in two minor-league stops in 2022. He has a plus slider and changeup and maybe the Mariners’ pitching group can coax more velocity out of him down the road.
Either way, he’s a lottery ticket. Espinal, however, isn’t. He does a lot of the things the Mariners — and good other teams — value."
NOTE: just saw this in the Hot Stove thread. Sorry for the repost!
