Rays and Mariners complete 6-man trade
By Andrew Fine
The Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mariners agreed to a huge six-player trade on Thursday night.
The Tampa Bay Rays and the Seattle Mariners completed a six-player trade late Thursday night. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports was the first to report the trade.
#Rays announce trade: They acquire SS Miller, 1B/OF Morrison and RHR Farquhar from #Mariners for RHP Karns, LHP Riefenhauser, OF Powell.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 6, 2015
The Rays picked up shortstop Brad Miller, utility man Logan Morrison and right-handed reliever Danny Farquhar from the Mariners in exchange for right-handed starting pitcher Nathan Karns, left-handed pitcher C.J. Riefenhauser, and outfielder Boog Powell.
In Karns the Mariners get a solid starting mid-rotation pitcher, who excelled in his first full season with the Rays. The 27-year-old Karns had a 7-5 record and an impressive 3.67 in 27 games for the team.
The Rays bolster their infield with the addition of the shortstop Miller, who saw career-highs this season in at bats (438), home runs (11), and runs batted in (46).
Morrison struggled significantly in his second season with Seattle, but perhaps a change of scenery could help him out. Morrison batted a career low .225, but slugged 17 home runs.
Like Morrison, Farquhar’s 2015 campaign was rough, owning a 1-8 record and an ugly 5.12 ERA. His struggles also included a demotion to Seattle’s AAA team in Tacoma.
Riefenhauser struggled in his brief time with the club, but finished the season strong, not allowing a run in has last five innings. In 14.2 innings the lefty allowed 10 runs, three home runs, and owned an ERA of 5.12.
Powell, 22, split time for the Tampa’s AA and AAA affiliates this past season. In AA Montgomery, he batted .328 with an on base percentage of .408 in 61 games. However, in AAA Durham, Powell had slightly worse batting average (.257) and on base percentage (.360).