Mariners Get: Yonder Alonso (22 HR, 49 RBI, .266 AVG, 1 SB, 140 wRC+, Age 30)
A's Get: Boog Powell (0 HR, 2 RBI, .194 AVG, 0 SB, 51 wRC+, Age 24)
In the first major trade post-deadline, the Mariners added some thunder to their lineup with the acquisition of Yonder Alonso, who is having a career year despite what his .266 batting average might try to tell you. Right now, Danny Valencia is manning first base and slashing a respectable .266/.317/.418 (99 wRC+), but Alonso will no doubt be an upgrade there. There is a chance the Mariners employ somewhat of a platoon there, as Valencia is slashing .297/.368/.505 against lefties, and Alonso is slashing .286/.391/.557 against righties. A year after slashing a mediocre .253/.316/.367 (88 wRC+), Alonso has changed his approach and it has paid huge dividends. He started hitting more fly balls, and this year, he's slashing .266/.369/.527 (140 wRC+) in a tough O.Co Coliseum, crushing 22 home runs when his previous career high, set back in 2012, was just nine. SAFECO Field isn't much easier to hit in than the Coliseum, but he'll have more lineup protection in Seattle with Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager, and Jean Segura around him. He also won't have to hit against lefties as much, against whom he's slashing just .188/.278/.406 this year. For his career, the former Miami Hurricane has 61 home runs and a .268/.339/.405 slash line. He's a free agent after the season, so this is a very short rental.
The newest Athletic isn't all that new to green and gold, having been drafted by Oakland in 2012, finding himself traded to the Rays, then the Mariners, and now back to the A's. Suspended for amphetamine use back in 2014, outfielder Boog Powell (no relation to the other Boog Powell) seems to have put that behind him, and he reached the majors at the age of 24 this year. In 23 games, he struggled a bit, slashing .194/.310/.194, though he did walk six times in 43 plate appearances, or 14% of the time. He's been much better at AAA Tacoma, where he is slashing .340/.416/.490 with six home runs and eleven stolen bases in 58 games, showcasing an exaggerated example of what he can be expected to do in the majors. Once he's up full time, he'll be a .270ish hitter with below average power, though he may be hampered a bit by his relative inability to draw a walk. He'll have a hard time cracking a starting lineup if something doesn't change, because even though a .270 batting average with a low strikeout rate and good speed is a pretty good combination, if he can't push his on-base percentage north of .330 or .340, he isn't quite making up for the lack of power.
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