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Rangers, Mariners swap Leonys Martin, Tom Wilhelmsen

The AL West has been the most aggressive division so far this offseason.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Mariners and Rangers have swung an intra-division trade that will send outfielder Leonys Martin and reliever Anthony Bass to Seattle in exchange for reliever Tom Wilhelmsen, outfielder James Jones and a player to be named later. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports was the first to report the deal.

The acquisition of Martin is the latest in a serious of significant moves for the Mariners, who have already acquired Nathan Karns, C.J. Riefenhauser and Joaquin Benoit while re-signing Franklin Gutierrez this offseason. The AL West has been the most active division in baseball, with the Angels' acquisition of Andrelton Simmons being among the most important moves so far.

Martin, 27, will likely see significant time in center field for the Mariners, who employed Austin Jackson at the position for a significant portion of 2014. Martin was displaced in Texas by Rule 5 pick Delino DeShields, and engaged in a public spat with the Rangers after refusing to work out in Arizona after being left off the team's postseason roster. Martin has hit .255/.305/.361 with 20 home runs over his first five major-league seasons, and is known as an excellent defensive center fielder. He is under team control for three more seasons.

Bass, 28, has struggled over the past few seasons and posted a 4.50 ERA in 33 appearances last season. He joins Benoit and Riefenhauser in a revamped Mariners' bullpen that will also include the likes of Carson Smith and Charlie Furbush.

Wilhelmsen, 31, was replaced as Seattle's closer by the team's acquisition of Benoit from the Padres last week and will likely serve as a late-inning setup man for Rangers' closer Shawn Tolleson. The right-hander has posted a solid 2.97 ERA in 267 appearances over five years with the Mariners, and joins righties Tolleson, Sam Dyson, Anthony Bass and Keone Kela in an already-solid Rangers' bullpen.

Jones, 27, has hit .238/.268/.296 with 28 stolen bases in 136 games with the Mariners over his first two major-league seasons and will replace Martin as DeShields' bakup in Texas. Jones is controllable through the end of the 2021 season and provides the Rangers with a solid pinch-running option off the bench.

For a look at every trade completed this offseason, check out our offseason trade tracker.