Zduriencik's 5 biggest moves, Draft history
Jack Zduriencik was relieved of his duties Friday after nearly seven years as the Mariners' general manager. Below are the five biggest moves of his tenure, as well as recaps of the team's drafts under Zduriencik.
Biggest moves
1. Signed Robinson Cano to a 10-year, $240 million deal in free agency prior to the 2014 season.
Cano, 32, is in the second year of that contract. He made the American League All-Star team during his first season with Seattle, but he struggled during the first half of this year before heating up the past two months.
Video: Cano ready to lead Mariners' crop of young talent
2. Signed Nelson Cruz to a four-year, $57 million deal prior to this season.
Cruz is leading the Majors with 39 home runs and is having an excellent year at age 34, leading the Mariners with a .320 average and 82 RBIs.
3. Traded pitchers Michael Pineda and Jose Campos to Yankees for catcher Jesus Montero and pitcher Hector Noesi on Jan. 23, 2012.
Pineda has dealt with injuries with the Yankees, but he remains a promising right-handed power arm and has gone 14-13 with a 3.31 ERA in 33 starts the past two years. Montero has dealt with numerous issues in Seattle, is now playing first base and is finally getting a chance at playing time in the final months of this season.
4. Traded pitchers Cliff Lee and Mark Lowe to the Rangers for Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke, Justin Smoak and Matt Lawson on July 9, 2010.
After getting Lee in an excellent deal from the Phillies for three prospects who never panned out in Philadelphia, Zduriencik flipped Lee, who was set to become a free agent at season's end, to Texas for four other prospects in midseason. Smoak wound up playing for Seattle for five years, but none of the four developed as had been hoped at the time of the deal.
5. Big three-team trade on Dec. 10, 2008
Zduriencik's first trade might have been his best, as he worked a three-team trade in which Seattle gave up J.J. Putz, Sean Green, Jeremy Reed and Luis Valbuena in exchange for Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, Jason Vargas, Mike Carp, Maikel Cleto and Franklin Gutierrez. Vargas and Gutierrez each were significant players at times for Seattle, and Chavez and Carp also contributed.
Zduriencik's Draft history
2009: Took Dustin Ackley with the second overall pick out of North Carolina. Ackley hit .243 with a .672 OPS in five seasons for Seattle and was traded last month to the Yankees for two Minor League prospects. The Mariners took Kyle Seager in the third round that year (82nd pick overall) in what might have been the best selection in Zduriencik's tenure.
2010: The Mariners didn't have a first-round selection, but landed Taijuan Walker with the 43rd pick in the compensation round as a high school pitcher out of California. Walker has developed into one of the Mariners' top young pitchers and is 9-7 with a 4.73 ERA this season in his first year as a full-time starter.
2011: Selected left-hander Danny Hultzen out of Virginia with the second overall pick. Hultzen has been plagued by shoulder problems and has yet to make it to the Major Leagues. He's pitched just 10 games over the past three years and is sitting out the remainder of this year in the hopes of being healthy by next spring.
Video: COL@SEA: Hultzen retires Paulsen to end the 4th
2012: Took catcher Mike Zunino out of Florida with the third overall selection. Zunino was promoted to the Majors midway through '13, and while he's been strong defensively as the starting catcher the past two seasons, he's hit just .193 overall and .174 this year.
2013: Selected third baseman D.J. Peterson out of New Mexico with the 12th overall pick. Peterson has hit .273 with 51 homers in 275 games in the Minors, but he batted just .223 with seven homers for Double-A Jackson this spring before being promoted to Tacoma, where hit went on the disabled list with an Achilles injury after playing in just four games.
2014: Selected Alex Jackson with the sixth overall pick. A catcher in high school in California, the Mariners converted him to the outfield, and the 19-year-old has hit .248 with an .820 OPS in 41 games at Low Class A Everett this year.
2015: With no first-round selection, the Mariners chose Georgia high school pitcher Nick Neidert with the 60th overall selection. He's 0-2 with a 1.53 ERA in 11 starts with the Rookie-level Arizona League team.