Mariners Trade-a-Day: Joey Wendle
The Mariners are in a bit of a tough spot in the standings. Their record would suggest that buying shouldn't be on the table. However, the team entered 2022 with playoff aspirations and they sit just six games back of a playoff spot with more than 110 games left to play. Ultimately, general manager Jerry Dipoto will likely look to improve his ballclub in 2022 and beyond, regardless of how far out of contention it might be.
Seattle has numerous places it could look to upgrade. It clearly needs some help in the rotation and bullpen. Its outfield isn't in a great place aside from Julio Rodgríguez, it doesn't have a viable everyday catcher and its bench is an absolute mess. Dipoto doesn't need to add superstars to each of these position groups, but he and his staff certainly need to raise the floor of every unit of their team. Enter Joey Wendle.
Wendle, the former Athletics and Rays infielder, currently finds himself on one of the only teams that's struggled more in May than the Mariners: the Marlins.
Miami went 7-19 in May and there are rumblings the team may already be looking to make some changes as the calendar turns to June. Miami has several interesting pieces, including right-handed pitcher Pablo López, outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler and Wendle.
A career .274/.329/.409 hitter, Wendle has consistently proven to be a quality big league bat over the course of his 465-game career. He is currently hitting .284/.340/.420, which is good for a 120 wRC+ and a 1.0 fWAR in 29 games.
Wendle carries a similar profile to other Mariners infielders like shortstop J.P. Crawford, second baseman Adam Frazier and utility man Abraham Toro. Like that trio, Wendle has some of the best contact skills in the game, allowing for him to carry a high floor in the batting average department despite not posting insane exit velocity numbers. Wendle is an aggressive hitter who likes to use the whole field and has, thus far, done a nice job of avoiding strikeouts.
Wendle isn't a sexy bat, but he's proven to be solid-to-average at his worst. But the Mariners would not be just buying his bat. They would also be acquiring one of the safest gloves in baseball. Wendle is an excellent second baseman and handles himself more than adequately at shortstop and third base as well. He also earns high marks for his base-running and possesses above-average speed.
Wendle is set to earn $4.5 million in 2022 and has a mutual option for 2023 worth $6.5 million. He is in his second year of arbitration, meaning he has two years left of club control, regardless of if the aforementioned option is picked up.
Nobody should expect Wendle to be a star. In a lot of ways, he's quite similar to Frazier and could be one of the better comps for Toro as well. But the Mariners, again, don't need a star. They need a reliable option off the bench and quality insurance against an injury to Crawford, Frazier or Toro. Dylan Moore isn't going to cut it for a team with playoff aspirations.
The cost to acquire Wendle likely won't be "cheap," but he's not going to cost his acquiring team a potential star player. The Marlins traded Kameron Misner—a former first-round pick who had floundered in the minor leagues—to the Rays for Wendle this winter. It's likely Miami could only hope to get roughly the same type of player in return for the 32-year old. A package that includes outfield prospect Zach DeLoach would likely grab the attention of Marlins general manager Kim Ng, though the trade cost could wind up being significantly lower.
At the end of the day, the Mariners may view Wendle as too similar to the likes of Frazier or Toro to use the resources required to lad him. But if the team wants to raise the floor of its bench and pay a little bit extra for actual infield insurance, the two sides could come to a deal.
