News Now: Braves Deal with another Veteran Shining Star…

Mariners Deal Veteran Starter, Two Others to Braves.

Why Marco Gonzales and his contract will hold the Mariners back going  forward

The Seattle Mariners shipped one of its longest-tenured pitchers to the Atlanta Braves in a five-player deal.

The Atlanta Braves and the Seattle Mariners have agreed to a trade that will help bolster the Braves’ rotation and give the Mariners more options in the bullpen.

The Braves acquired pitcher Marco Gonzalez, along with outfielder Jarred Kelenic and Evan White from the Mariners for two young right-handed pitchers — Jackson Kowar and Cole Phillips — per the Seattle Times.

Gonzalez has been with the Mariners since 2017 and was one of the team’s longest-tenured players before the trade. But the Braves are taking a risk in this trade and inheriting his $12 million salary for 2024.

After 10 starts for Seattle, Gonzales was placed on the injured list with a left forearm strain, which was later diagnosed as a flexor strain. He had surgery to decompress a nerve in his forearm. Before the injury he was 4-1 with a 5.22 ERA in 2023.

With the Mariners he went 61-47 with a 4.08 ERA. He could be seen as a back-of-the-rotation option for the Braves, who were in the market for Chicago White Sox starter Dylan Cease. This trade may not rule that out.

Kelenic has played for Seattle for three seasons and still has arbitration years. He batted .204 wih the Mariners as a part-time player.

White, a first baseman, underwent hip surgery in May and only played in 30 games and batted .144.

Kowar is a former first-round pick in 2018 who pitched 23 games in relief with Atlanta last season, going 2-0 with a 6.43 ERA. He has 39 career MLB appearances, the rest of which came with his original team, the Kansas City Royals.

Phillips is the Braves’ No. 7 overall prospect and is projected to join the Majors in 2027. The right-hander had Tommy John surgery before he was drafted in 2022 but he hasn’t pitched in the pros yet.

 

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