Dipoto: Bruce deal opens spot for young players
Mariners sent veteran outfielder to Philly for infield prospect
SEATTLE -- While many eyebrows were raised when the Mariners traded veteran outfielder Jay Bruce to the Phillies for a relatively unheralded prospect while still absorbing much of Bruce’s remaining salary, general manager Jerry Dipoto said on Monday that the deal will benefit both Bruce and the Mariners.
Seattle's scouts like the athleticism and makeup of Jake Scheiner, the 23-year-old infielder acquired from the Phillies. But the deal was more about opening opportunities for younger Mariners to continue gaining experience this season while allowing Bruce to go somewhere he can get playing time.
Included in that equation is the desire to continue developing Daniel Vogelbach, as he’d been splitting time with Bruce and Edwin Encarnacion between first base and designated hitter. The impending return of Ryon Healy from the 10-day injured list, with Kyle Seager now back at third base, created a further logjam.
“This decision was 100 percent based on what we think is best for the future of the Mariners,” Dipoto said. “Jay Bruce made us a better team in this moment in 2019. But hopefully, the playing time we give other players is going to benefit us in the future.
“That includes at-bats we’ll now be able to provide Vogey that frankly some were going to Jay. There’ll be at-bats for Ryon Healy and some of our young outfielders and even just to see players who are struggling be able to rebound instead of having to manage so many corner guys.”
Seattle will send the Phillies more than $18.5 million of the remaining $21.3 million on Bruce’s contract, so the Mariners are saving only about $2.75 million of his salary over the next two years. But that money was a sunk cost that the Mariners inherited as part of the Mets’ willingness to take on Robinson Cano’s $120 million over the next five years.
The Mariners also have recently dealt reliever Anthony Swarzak, the other veteran acquired in the Cano/ Edwin Diaz, but still have the three young prospects they coveted in that deal -- outfielder Jarred Kelenic, left-hander Justin Dunn and right-handed reliever Gerson Bautista.
Dipoto didn’t want to put Bruce in the position of riding the bench on a rebuilding team when the veteran still wants to contribute and compete on a club contending for the postseason.
“Jay is a great guy and leader in the clubhouse,” Dipoto said. “As much as you can have impact in four months, he did that. But Jay wants to play. Mitch [Haniger] is going to play right field. We want to play Mallex Smith and Domingo [Santana]. And we want to see the young guys get reps, whether Braden [Bishop] or the next wave. It was going to get harder and harder to get Jay playing time.
“The dollars were already [allocated]. We were paying Jay that money no matter what. We wanted to give Jay an opportunity. We did the right thing for Jay and the right thing for the Mariners.”
Bruce won’t be the last veteran on a short-term deal dealt by the Mariners this year, given that Encarnacion, Mike Leake, Dee Gordon, Tim Beckham and others are in a similar situation of having contracts that expire after 2019 or '20 and thus don’t fit in the long-term vision.
Dipoto spent last offseason creating future payroll flexibility and adding younger prospects by moving veterans like Cano, Jean Segura, James Paxton, Mike Zunino and Alex Colome. Additional moves will certainly come in the next eight weeks leading up to the July 31 Trade Deadline.
“From the beginning, we’ve made no secret about what we’re doing and intend to do,” Dipoto said. “We did not sneak up on Jay Bruce. He knew this was a possibility the day he got here and knew throughout our communication with the Phillies what was happening.
“I suspect we’ll continue to have conversations with other teams. But nothing is imminent.”
Scheiner will report to Modesto
Scheiner, the prospect acquired for Bruce, was a fourth-round Draft pick by the Phillies in 2017 as a third baseman out of the University of Houston and he put up big numbers last year for Class A Lakewood, posting a .296/.372/.470 slash line with 30 doubles, 13 homers and 67 RBIs in 122 games.
This year, Scheiner is off to slower start after being bumped up to Class A Advanced Clearwater, with a .256/.324/.356 line with eight doubles, two homers and 20 RBIs in 45 games, but he’s been heating up of late and the Mariners like his versatility.
Scheiner has played about half his games in the Minors at third base, while also splitting time at first, second and left field.
“He was a guy we liked in the Draft,” Dipoto said. “His makeup is off the charts and he’s pretty athletic. Good on-base skills, manages the strike zone, good athlete. He adds depth to our system and gives us an interesting prospect to watch grow.”