Mariners Moose Tracks, 1/10/21: Taylor Trammell, Fernando Tatís Jr., Kyle Schwarber

Some Sunday links to close out your weekend right

Happy Sunday! Just a reminder that we are through the first week of the 40 in 40s. Whee! Five down, 35 to go, and remember every one you read is another day closer to Spring Training games starting. Catch up on the first week’s installment here.

On to today’s links!

In Mariners news:

• Baseball America wrote up Taylor Trammell’s performance from the fall developmental league with some glowing quotes from Jerry Dipoto and farm director Andy McKay, including this detail: the Mariners had TT focus on a throwing program while in Arizona, and according to Dipoto, his arm has improved anywhere from a grade to a grade-and-a-half.
• Attention fantasy baseball types: Andy Patton wrote up the top 50 Mariners prospects from a fantasy perspective over at Pitcher List.
• Congratulations to Yohan Ramírez and Luís Liberato, who have been playing for the Águilas Cibaeñas in the LIDOM playoffs and advanced to the championship series last night. Liberato was originally a member of the Leones del Escogido but was selected by the Águilas in the playoff re-draft.

• Speaking of Mariners prospects, here’s Jonatan Clase and Arturo Guerrero getting in some work in their native Dominican Republic. Make sure to put the sound up on Clase’s video as his 70-grade speed gets tested against the sands of the DR.

Around the league:

• [Adele voice] Rumor has it...that Fernando Tatís Jr. and the Padres are in talks regarding a contract extension. Early indications suggest the deal could be in the 10-year range. Héctor Gómez, who is pretty reliable on these things, says it’s 11 years, $320M.
• Not getting a ten-year deal, nor any other kind of deal, despite our John Trupin writing a well-thought-out argument for the case to make him a Mariner: KBO star Sung-bum Na, who will return to the NC Dinos after failing to reach an agreement with any MLB clubs.

• The Nationals continue to add, signing slugger Kyle Schwarber to a one-year deal. As John pointed out, the way this deal is structured essentially buys out Schwarber’s arbitration year in 2021, or awards him a handsome salary if things go well. Seems like a good deal all around.

• Back to rumor-mongering! The Red Sox are reportedly shopping former Rookie of the Year candidate Andrew Benintendi. It seems like an odd time to trade him after two straight down years in performance including an absolutely dismal, and hopefully non-representative, 2020, but Benintendi becomes arbitration-eligible next season and as we all know, a struggling small-market team like Boston has to pinch every conceivable penny.
• On to more imminent trades: the Cubs continue to hold a fire sale at Wrigley Field, with Kris Bryant and Willson Contreras most likely on the move. Bryant has been linked to the Mets, although the Mets are apparently standing firm on not giving up any top prospects, and per Jon Heyman—and relevant to the Mariners—the Angels are a possibility for Contreras due to both the Joe Maddon connection and the fact that the Angels catching depth chart is currently a chest protector hanging off a coat rack.
• The Phillies and Giants made a minor trade yesterday, with SF sending MLB-ish reliever Sam Coonrod to the Phillies in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Carson Ragsdale. The Giants get another super-tall (6’8”) pitcher in Ragsdale, and the Phillies get...a guy a lot of Phillies fans aren’t very excited about.
• Remember Chase De Jong? He’s a Pirate now, or at least a minor-league one.
• Out of Red Sox organizational limbo at last, outfielder Rusney Castillo is headed to NPB to play for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Kate’s pick:

After the other week’s penguins I kinda feel like I’m pigeonholing myself as Bird Girl but I’m sorry, this eagle just gets it.