The Mariners have acquired 31-year old righty swinging shortstop Jack Wilson and 27-year old righty starting pitcher Ian Snell from the Pirates for 25-year old lefty swinging 1B/C Jeff Clement, 26-year old righty swinging shortstop Ronny Cedeno, 22-year old righty Aaron Pribanic, 22-year old righty starting pitcher Brett Lorin and 21-year old righty starting pitcher Nathan Adcock. Wilson has played in 75 games this season for the Pirates and he was 71 for 266 (.267 avg, .691 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 4 homers and 31 RBIs. He has now played in 1,159 games in his major league career and he is 1,158 for 4,305 (.269 avg, .687 OPS) with 508 runs scored, 60 homers, 389 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. Wilson is one of the best defensive shortstops in all of baseball so this trade will definately improve the infield. Ian Snell should work his way into the starting rotation for the Mariners soon. He struggled with the Pirates earlier this season starting 15 games in which he was 2-8 with a 5.36 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. After the Pirates sent him to AAA he started to excel. Snell has started 6 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 2-2 with a 0.96 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He has whiffed 47 batters in 37 1/3 AAA innings this season while allowing only 28 hits. Snell has now pitched in 128 games (116 starts) in his major league career and he is 33-46 with a 4.75 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP.

Getting Wilson and Snell wasn’t cheap however. Jeff Clement was one of the better prospects in the Mariners’ system just a couple of years ago so he has a nice upside. Clement has played in 92 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 107 for 372 (.288 avg, .871 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 14 homers and 68 RBIs. Clement played in 75 games in his career with the Mariners in which he was 52 for 219 (.237 avg, .701 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 7 homers and 26 RBIs. He will likely start at 1B for the Pirates. Ronny Cedeno has been truly awful for the Mariners this season. He played in 59 games for the Mariners this season and he was 31 for 186 (.167 avg, .504 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 5 homers, 17 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Nathan Adcock was the Mariners’ #24 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He has pitched in 21 games (19 starts) in A-ball this season and he is 5-7 with a 5.29 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Adcock will need some time to iron out control problems before he makes it to Seattle as he has walked 54 batters in 102 innings this season. Aaron Pribanic was the Mariners’ #27 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He has started 17 games in A-ball this season and he is 7-6 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Brett Lorin was the #28 prospect in the Mariners’ system coming into the 2009 season according to Baseball America. Lorin has started 16 games in A-ball this season and he is 5-4 with a 2.44 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He has only allowed 61 hits in 88 2/3 innings this season while whiffing 87 batters which shows how good his stuff is. This was a trade to win now for the Mariners so it’s hard to fault them in giving up so much talent for Wilson and Snell.

The Mariners have acquired 26-year old righty reliever Robert Manuel from the Mariners for 25-year old righty swinging outfielder Wladimir Balentien. Manuel has pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the Reds this season and he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He has also pitched in 36 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he is 3-4 with 10 saves, a 2.70 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Manuel should help out the Mariners’ bullpen at some point this season while Balentien was a complete bust in his time in Seattle.

No one could have seen this coming from Jarrod Washburn this season. After all, he had not pitched well his first three seasons in Seattle. In his first three years with the Mariners, Washburn pitched in 91 games (89 starts) in which he was 23-43 with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. But, this season Washburn has started 19 games for the Mariners and he is 8-6 with a 2.71 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He has been one of the best starting pitchers in all of baseball and teams have been calling about him. If the Mariners still have any hopes of making the playoffs come Friday, July 31st then they can’t trade Washburn.

The Mariners have designated 25-year old righty swinging outfielder Wladimir Balentien for assignment. Balentien played in 56 games for the Mariners this season and he was 33 for 155 (.213 avg, .626 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 4 homers and 13 RBIs. In parts of three seasons with the Mariners, Balentien played in 130 games in which he was 84 for 401 (.209 avg, .619 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 12 homers and 41 RBIs. Balentien showed no improvement as a player since arriving in Seattle whiffing an amazing 122 times this season. Some team will take a chance on Balentien so he could come back to haunt the Mariners down the road.

The Mariners have designated 29-year old righty reliever Roy Corcoran for assignment. Corcoran pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Mariners this season and he was 2-0 with a 6.16 ERA and a 2.21 WHIP. In parts of two seasons with the Mariners, Corcoran pitched in 66 games (0 starts) in which he was 8-2 with 3 saves, a 3.83 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP.