BOSTON — With Tuesday’s 3 p.m. Pacific Time MLB trade deadline looming, the Seattle Mariners made yet another move to bolster their lineup and offensive production while adding some postseason experience.
Just before the team took the field Monday afternoon at Fenway Park, Mariners general manager Justin Hollander confirmed the team had acquired veteran infielder/designated hitter Justin Turner and cash considerations from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for minor league outfield prospect R.J. Schreck.
“Justin has been one of the most productive corner infield bats in the league for over a decade,” Hollander said in a statement. “With his track record at the plate and extensive experience in the postseason, he is a valuable addition to both our lineup and clubhouse.”
Turner, 39, had 299 plate appearances for Toronto this season, posting a .254/.349/.371 slash line with 17 doubles, six homers, 31 RBI, 39 walks and 60 strikeouts. He is owed roughly $4.3 million on his $13 million contract for this season.
The Blue Jays were playing in the first game of a doubleheader at Camden Yards in Baltimore when Turner was removed from the game and notified of the trade. He was 1-for-1 in the game.
“I’m expecting him to join our club here tomorrow,” manager Scott Servais said Monday. “We’re trying to bolster up our club, offensively, He’s got a great track record in the league. He’s a proven bat and guy who also brings a lot, a lot of experience, a presence, leadership, all those things that you’re looking to add. We’ve got a couple of big months of baseball ahead of us. Excited to get a chance to talk with him.”
Since July 1, Turner has posted a .301/.401/.399 slash line with seven doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI, 19 runs scored, 19 walks and 29 strikeouts.
“He’s a pro,” Servais said. “He has been around a long time and gone through a lot in his career. He’s been on winning teams — a lot of winning teams. There’s certain way that winning teams go about things. I just think it’s a win not only for what he can do on the field, which I still think he has plenty of left to give there, hopefully what he can give to others as well.”
Turner has generated most of those at-bats as a designated hitter. But he has appeared in 11 games at first base and five at third base this season.
“I would hope he’d play a bunch of first base for us and we’ll see where that goes,” Servais said. “He’ll DH some as well. We’ll just wait and see how he feels when he gets here and see what the roster looks like.”
Schreck, 24, was rated as the Mariners’ No. 29 prospect in the organization. He was recently promoted to Double-A Arkansas after posting a .261/.401/.464 slash line with 20 doubles, 12 homers, 44 RBI, 57 walks and 47 strikeouts in 78 games for High-A Everett.
He was selected in the ninth round of the 2023 draft out of Vanderbilt.
France to Reds
Ty France won’t be signing a free-agent contract with any team that might be competing with the Mariners for the American League West title or a wild card spot.
On Monday, Seattle sent France and cash considerations to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for minor league catcher Andruw Salcedo.
A MLB source confirmed that the Mariners are picking up around $1.2 million of what was left on France’s $6.775 million contract with the Reds paying $1 million.
That the Mariners got any help paying off France’s 2024 salary and a player in return in the deal was unexpected.
The Mariners placed France on irrevocable release waivers on June 21, checking to see if a team might claim him and take the roughly $2.2 million owed to him this season. When he cleared the irrevocable waivers, the Mariners opted to designate France for assignment last week instead of keeping him on the active roster.
Per the collective bargaining agreement, Seattle had seven days to trade France. After the seven days, he would’ve been placed on release waivers where he could’ve been claimed by another team.
Had France cleared waivers again, they could’ve outrighted him to their minor league system. France would’ve declined that outright assignment due to accrued MLB service time and become a free agent. Signing with the Astros or the Red Sox would’ve been a possibility.
Instead, he will got to the hitter-friendly confines in the National League Central, including his new home Great American Ballpark — one of the best hitting parks in MLB.
France, 30, appeared in 88 games with Seattle this season, posting a .223/.312/.350 slash line with 14 doubles, eight homers, 31 RBI, 28 walks and 83 strikeouts.
In parts of five seasons with the Mariners (2020-24), France posted a .266/.343/.407 slash line with 110 doubles, three triples, 60 home runs, 258 RBI and 158 walks, making the All-Star team in 2022.
Salcedo, 21, has appeared in seven games during the 2024 season with Class A Daytona.
Signed as an international free agent out of Sincelejo, Colombia in 2019, Salcedo, a switch-hitter, is in his fourth minor league season in the Reds organization. He posted a .246/.347/.330 slash line over those seasons.
