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The Mariners have acquired infielder Ryon Healy from the Athletics for right-handed pitcher Emilio Pagan and infielder Alexander Campos, per a club announcement by the A’s on Wednesday night.
Healy, 25, should provide a fairly significant boost to the Mariners’ lineup, and he’s under club control through the 2022 season. Healy is capable of playing both first and third base, but with Kyle Seager holding down Seattle’s everyday third base job and the Mariners having a vacancy at first, Healy will play first base on a regular basis.
Healy had a very strong rookie campaign in 2016, posting a .305/.337/.524 slash line with 13 homers in 283 plate appearances after making his debut in mid-July. He took a slight step back during his first full big-league season in 2017, slashing .271/.302/.451 over 605 plate appearances, but he continued to hit for power, hitting 25 home runs.
However, with first baseman Matt Olson and third baseman both having outstanding rookie campaigns and establishing themselves as regular starters, Healy was likely going to be a DH or a full-time utility player going forward in Oakland. While he’s young and controllable—the type of player that the A’s theoretically should desire—the front office obviously concluded that he was expendable due to the talent they possessed at first and third base and their ability to plug in Khris Davis as a full-time designated hitter.
Pagan, 26, was outstanding as a rookie for Seattle in 2017, posting a 3.22 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in 50.1 innings spread over 34 appearances. He should provide some much-needed help to an Oakland bullpen that lost its two anchors, Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson, this past July.
Campos, 17, was signed out of Venezuela in July of 2016 and received a $575,000 bonus. He’s considered a high-ceiling defender, and while his offensive tools are less encouraging, he was solid in the Dominican Summer League this year, posting a .290/.413/.367 slash line over 59 games. He was rated as the Mariners’ No. 15 prospect, albeit in a weak minor-league system, by MLB Pipeline.
Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto has repeatedly shown a penchant for building his team via trade, so it wasn’t surprising to see Seattle pull off the first trade of the offseason. Following the Healy deal, 21 of the 36 players on the Mariners’ 40-man roster have been acquired via trade.