The Hot Stove season brought us another trade on Wednesday morning.
The Seattle Mariners acquired outfielder Teoscar Hernández from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for right-handed reliever Erik Swanson and lefty pitcher Adam Macko.
Hernandez is basically a rental for Seattle, as he is in the last year or arbitration eligibility.
He doesn’t draw many walks, but has serious power and will supply it for the offensively-challenged Mariners.
He has averaged an .852 OPS (.519 SLG) with 36 home runs and 114 RBI for every 162 games played since the beginning of the 2020 season.
But let’s focus on the Jays and what they got in return.
Toronto has an exciting lineup full of power, speed, and athleticism: Alejandro Kirk, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Matt Chapman, George Springer, and others are established contributors.
Their rotation is also good, but their bullpen has cost them several games in the last two seasons.
The Bullpen Needed Help And They Got A Major Piece
It’s one of the reasons they couldn’t hold an 8-1 lead against these same Mariners in the Wild Card round.
To help the unit, they got Swanson, one of the most underrated relievers in the American League.
Swanson is an elite high-leverage reliever.
Blue Jays insider Ben Nicholson-Smith analyzed how he fits in the roster.
“RHP Erik Swanson is an elite back-end reliever with a 34% K rate and 4.9% walk rate. Three years of team control remaining. 29-year-old described as an awesome right on left reliever as well. His baseball savant page looks like this,” he tweeted.
RHP Erik Swanson is an elite back-end reliever with a 34% K rate and 4.9% walk rate. Three years of team control remaining. 29-year-old described as an awesome right on left reliever as well. His baseball savant page looks like this. pic.twitter.com/kPizlZTyEl
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) November 16, 2022
Swanson had a 1.68 ERA in 53.2 frames this past season with Seattle.
He is as good as they come.
He will slot in nicely in the back of the Blue Jays bullpen.
NEXT: The Blue Jays Restocked Their Pitching In Shocking Trade