The Mariners have acquired 24-year old lefty reliever Jose Lugo and 22-year old switch hitting 2B Reegie Corona. Lugo pitched in 51 games (0 starts) in A-ball last season and he was 2-6 with 1 save, a 4.04 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Lugo does have a big arm however based on the fact that he whiffed 76 batters in 69 innings pitched last season. Corona played in 129 games in AA-ball last season and he was 125 for 457 (.274 avg, .710 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 3 homers, 39 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. Corona has a good shot to win a spot on the Mariners’ bench in 2009 and Lugo could make the bullpen. These are two players with nice upsides.

The Seattle Mariners traded J.J. Putz, Sean Green and Jeremy Reed to the Mets and 2B Luis Valbuena to the Indians. In return, the Mariners have acquired Franklin Gutierrez, Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, Mike Carp, Jason Vargas, Ezequiel Carrera and Maikel Cleto. 25-year old righty swinging Franklin Gutierrez will be the starting CF in 2009 for the Mariners. He played in 134 games for the Indians last year and he was 99 for 399 (.248 avg, .690 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 8 homers, 41 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. He has now played in 284 games in his major league career in which he is 208 for 807 (.258 avg, .717 OPS) with 118 runs scored, 22 homers, 85 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. 30-year old righty Aaron Heilman might just take over as the closer for the Mariners. He pitched in 78 games (0 starts) for the Mets last season and he was 3-8 with 3 saves, a 5.21 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. He has now pitched in 305 games (25 starts) in his career and he is 22-33 with 9 saves, a 4.24 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. 30-year old lefty swinging outfielder Endy Chavez should get a lot of playing time for the Mariners in 2009. He played in 133 games for the Mets last season and he was 72 for 270 (.267 avg, .638 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 1 homer, 12 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has now played in 773 games in his major league career in which he is 561 for 2,076 (.270 avg, .680 OPS) with 272 runs scored, 17 homers, 177 RBIs and 78 stolen bases. 22-year old lefty swinging 1B Mike Carp was another key to this trade as he was the Mets’ #19 prospect heading into the 2008 season according to Baseball America. Carp played in 134 games in AA-ball last season and he was 143 for 478 (.299 avg, .874 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 17 homers and 72 RBIs. 25-year old lefty starting pitcher Jason Vargas missed all of last season due to injury but he has the potential to start if healthy for the Mariners in 2009. He has pitched in 31 games (20 starts) in his major league career and he is 6-8 with a 5.81 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. 21-year old lefty swinging outfielder Ezequiel Carrera is a speedster. He played in 114 games in A-ball last season and he was 113 for 430 (.263 avg, .737 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 7 homers, 29 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. 19-year old righty pitcher Maikel Cleto pitched in 26 games (23 starts) in A-ball last year and he was 5-12 with a 4.41 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.

The Mariners did give up a lot of talent in this trade but they also saved money. 31-year old righty reliever J.J. Putz was the key for the Mets in this deal. He pitched in 47 games (0 starts) for the Mariners last season and he was 6-5 with 15 saves, a 3.88 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. He finished his career with the Mariners having worked in 308 games (0 starts) in which he was 22-15 with 101 saves, a 3.07 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. 29-year old righty reliever Sean Green was another pitcher that the Mets liked. He pitched in 72 games (0 starts) for the Mariners last year and he was 4-5 with 1 save, a 4.67 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Green finished his career working in 160 games (0 starts) for the Mariners in which he was 9-7 with 1 save, a 4.32 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. 27-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jeremy Reed was the last player sent to the Mets in this deal. He played in 97 games for the Mariners last season and he was 77 for 286 (.269 avg, .674 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 2 homers and 31 RBIs. Reed played in 336 games for the Mariners in his career and he was 273 for 1,061 (.257 avg, .679 OPS) with 131 runs scored, 11 homers, 98 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. 23-year old lefty swinging 2B Luis Valbuena was sent to the Indians as part of this deal. He played in 18 games for the Mariners this season and he was 12 for 49 (.245 avg, .662 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 1 RBI. He also played in 128 games in AA + AAA ball in which he was 137 for 452 (.303 avg, .813 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 11 homers, 60 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.

The Mariners have signed 28-year old righty swinging 1B Chris Shelton to a minor league deal. He will be in a battle with Bryan LaHair and Russell Branyan for the starting 1B job in 2009 for the Mariners. Shelton played in 41 games for the Rangers last season and he was 21 for 97 (.216 avg, .663 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 2 homers and 11 RBIs. He has now played in 290 games in his major league career and he is 248 for 904 (.274 avg, .807 OPS) with 131 runs scored, 27 homers and 120 RBIs. This was a nice low risk move for the Mariners as Shelton still has some upside in his game.

The Mariners have outrighted R.A. Dickey and Sean White to AAA making them both free agents. The 34-year old knuckle-balling Dickey pitched in 32 games (14 starts) for the Mariners last season in which he was 5-8 with a 5.21 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He has pitched in 109 games (47 starts) in his major league career and he is 21-27 with 2 saves, a 5.57 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. White is a 27-year old righty who pitched in AAA + Rookie ball last year working in 23 games (all starts) in which he was 6-11 with a 5.53 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. White pitched in 15 games (0 starts) in his major league career with the Mariners compiling a 1-1 record with a 5.60 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. The Mariners won’t miss either of these guys.

The Mariners have signed Callix Crabbe and Chris Woodward to minor league contracts. Crabbe is a 25-year old switch-hitting middle infielder. He played in 21 games for the Padres last season and he was 6 for 34 (.176 avg, .488 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 2 RBIs. He also played in 69 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 55 for 204 (.270 avg, .744 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 1 homer, 18 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Woodward is a 32-year old righty swinging infielder who can play anywhere including the outfield corners. He played in 90 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 81 for 297 (.273 avg, .703 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 3 homers and 40 RBIs. He has also played in 607 games in his major league career and he is 388 for 1,598 (.243 avg, .674 OPS) with 201 runs scored, 33 homers and 186 RBIs. Neither of these players has much of an upside but they will compete for spots on the bench for the Mariners in 2009.