MLB Universe Reacts To Brewers-Mariners Trade
On Friday afternoon, two MLB teams with the intention to contend in 2023 completed a big trade.
The Seattle Mariners agreed to send infielder Abraham Toro and outfielder Jesse Winker to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for second baseman Kolten Wong and $1.75 million in cash.
The deal, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, is not done yet but will be soon.
The Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers are finalizing a trade that will send outfielder Jesse Winker and infielder Abraham Toro to the Brewers for second baseman Kolten Wong and around $1.75 million in cash, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. It’s at the finish line.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 2, 2022
Three talented players are involved in the deal, so it could very well go either way if we analyze who won and who lost.
The most important thing is that both squads filled some needs.
Fantasy baseball analyst Mike Kurland likes the fact that Winker is returning to the NL Central division, where he had his best years with the Cincinnati Reds.
Winker back in NL Central, great ballpark, good division, path to PT
Hate that I’m intrigued.
— Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) December 2, 2022
From 2017 to 2021, he didn’t post an OPS lower than .830 with the Reds and is a good rebound candidate for the Brewers.
In fact, he has some really good career numbers in the Brewers’ stadium.
Jesse Winker in his career at Miller Park/American Family Field:
.344/.440/.591 with a 1.032 OPS in 32 games
That’ll play.
— Reviewing the Brew (@ReviewngTheBrew) December 2, 2022
In exchange, they give away a solid second baseman in Wong.
Wong has some pop, speed, contact, and defense.
He has accumulated 5.0 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) in the last two seasons and is as reliable as they come.
The Move Has The Potential To Help Both Teams
After a year of Adam Frazier, the Mariners will welcome him with open arms.
They were interested in Wong for a long time.
This is a good trade for many reasons:
1. They’ve always wanted Wong and need a 2B
2. It didn’t cost pitching
3. Jerry has now shown he can move past failed acquisitions like Winker and Toro and avoid sunk costs https://t.co/UeSRhTtZB7— alexSSN (@alexSSN) December 2, 2022
For Wong, however, the ballpark won’t be as favorable as it was in Milwaukee.
Fun trade all around. I’d expect Winker at DH and Toro to replace Wong at second for the Brewers. Shouldn’t hurt our chances of getting some Mitchell/Frelick in the outfield. Unfortunately for Kolten Wong, it is a negative park shift for him. https://t.co/WSSeJdwV58
— Frank Stampfl (@Roto_Frank) December 2, 2022
Toro represents a fun project for the Brewers: he wasn’t that good in 2022 but remains talented and controllable on the cheap for a long time.
I will miss toro more then winker if I’m being fully honest here pic.twitter.com/DGkYEuOIbd
— markus (@mariners_markus) December 2, 2022
All things considered, this is a fun trade and has the potential to help both teams in the long run.