The Mariners made two trades on a very busy Friday

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You might think that nothing really gets done on a Friday. But the Mariners and their GM Jerry Dipoto obviously don’t subscribe to that notion. They made two trades within three hours of each other yesterday, getting that hot stove just a little bit warmer. Their first trade was the more puzzling of the two. They traded outfielder Seth Smith to the Orioles for right-handed starter Yovani Gallardo.

That trade is a little odd. There are still a number of free agent pitchers on the market who are at least as good as Gallardo and who haven’t had the recent struggles he’s had. When guys like Doug Fister and Tyson Ross are still waiting to be signed, it’s strange that the Mariners would give up a player for a pitcher who is a fifth starter at best. Gallardo had a 5.42 ERA with the Orioles last year and gave up a staggering 16 home runs in 23 starts. So the Mariners are obviously hoping that Gallardo will rebound into the pitcher he used to be. Leaving Camden Yards should help with his home run problem, at least.

Of course, trading Smith away meant that the Mariners needed outfield help. That help wanted sign was out for all of three hours when Dipoto pulled the trigger on another trade. They got speedy outfielder Jarrod Dyson from the Royals and sent right-handed pitcher Nathan Karns to Kansas City. Dyson is a base stealer and just had one of the best years of his career, but the Mariners had to sacrifice a young-ish, team-controlled pitcher to get him. So Friday’s trades gave the Mariners a solid-looking outfield (and more speedy guys on the bases), but solved none of their problems with pitching, and perhaps even caused more. Dipoto is definitely taking a risk by trading for Gallardo instead of signing one of the more reliable guys who are still on the market, and only time will tell if that risk will pay off.

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