Mariners Trade for Blue Jays Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez

Teoscar Hernandez will bring another bat to Seattle alongside AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez.

The Seattle Mariners made a trade on Wednesday to make their outfielder tougher for 2023, acquiring Toronto’s Teoscar Hernández.

The Mariners made the trade official via social media.

In return, the Blue Jays will get right-handed pitcher Erik Swanson and minor league left-handed pitcher Adam Macko.

Hernández batted .267/.316/.491/.807 with 25 home runs and 77 RBI. The expectation is that he’ll play in right field alongside Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez, who was named the American League Rookie of the Year earlier this week.

The Mariners are coming off a 90-72 season in which they reached the postseason for the first time since 2001. The Mariners beat the Blue Jays, 2-0, in their three-game Wild-Card series before losing to the Houston Astros, 3-0, in the Divisional Round.

The Astros, who went 106-50 and won the American League West, eventually won the World Series.

The trade bolsters Seattle’s outfield and makes the Mariners more difficult to chase down for the Rangers, who finished fourth in the AL West at 68-94. The Rangers have already made a move at manager, hiring three-time World Series champion Bruce Bochy.

The Rangers have made a couple of moves to their starting rotation. On Tuesday, starting pitcher Martín Pérez accepted the qualifying offer extended by the Rangers, which is $19.65 million for the 2023 season. That kept the left-hander out of free agency.

Last week, Texas acquired starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi and cash considerations from the Braves for pitcher Kolby Allard.

The Rangers are still interested in signing at least one free-agent starting pitcher and a middle-of-the-order bat during free agency.

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