Mariners Complete 5-Player Trade With Tampa Bay
Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today the following trade:
Taylor Motter, INF/OF, acquired from Tampa Bay.
Richie Shaffer, INF/OF, acquired from Tampa Bay.
Dalton Kelly, INF, traded to Tampa Bay.
Andrew Kittredge, RHP, traded to Tampa Bay.
Dylan Thompson, RHP, traded to Tampa Bay.
The Mariners Major League 40-man roster is now at 37.
“Motter and Shaffer help us create the depth that is critical to our success,” said Dipoto. “They are two defensively versatile players who have offensive skill; Shaffer brings power and Motter brings on-base ability and speed. Their additions gives us players with Major League experience who allow us to maintain our roster flexibility throughout the season.”
Motter, 27, hit .188 (15x80) with 11 runs, 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 9 RBI and 11 walks in 34 games with Tampa Bay last season. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound infielder/outfielder made his Major League debut on May 16, 2016 at Toronto. Motter appeared defensively at shortstop (9 games, 7 starts), left field (7 G, 4 GS), second base (6 G, 4 GS), right field (6 G, 2 GS), third base (4 G, 3 GS) and first base (1 G, 1 GS) with the Rays last season. He also became the 6th position player in Rays history to pitch in a game on July 1 vs. Detroit. He began the 2016 season with AAA Durham, where he hit .229 (80x350) with 44 runs, 17 doubles, 13 home runs, 46 RBI and 33 walks in 88 games.
In parts of 6 minor league season in the Rays organization, Motter is a career .272 (538x1981) hitter with 125 doubles, 56 home runs and 263 RBI in 553 career games. He was named to the International League midseason and postseason All-Star team in 2015 and added to the Rays 40-man roster following the season. The native of West Palm Beach, Fla., was drafted by the Rays in the 17th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of Coastal Carolina University. He made his pro debut with Princeton in the Appalachian Rookie League in 2011.
Shaffer, 25, appeared in 20 games over three stints with Tampa Bay in 2016 (8/3–10, 8/20–24 & 9/6-end of season). Overall he hit .250 (12x48) with 5 runs scored, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 4 RBI and 5 walks, while appearing in games at first base, third base and designated hitter. The 6-foot-3, right-handed batter spent the majority of the season with AAA Durham in the International League, batting .227 (97x428) with 49 runs scored, 27 doubles, 11 home runs, 48 RBI, 65 walks and 4 stolen bases in 119 games. Shaffer was recently rated by Baseball America as the Best Infield Arm in the Rays organization following the 2016.
Shaffer was selected by Tampa in the first round (25th overall) in the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Clemson University. He was originally selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 25th round in the 2009 draft out of Providence (Charlotte, NC) High School, but did not sign. He made his Major League debut with the Rays in 2015 and appeared in 31 games at 4 different positions (1B, 3B, RF, DH) during his rookie campaign. Shaffer recorded his first career hit, a solo home run, in his second career start on August 4, 2015 at Chicago-AL off Daniel Webb. Over 5 seasons in the minor leagues with the Rays, Shaffer hit .246 (452x1834) with 251 runs scored, 120 doubles, 8 triples, 71 home runs, 283 RBI, 226 walks and 18 stolen bases in 501 games. He was named the Rays Minor League Player of the Year following the 2015 season after leading all Rays minor leaguers with 26 home runs and tying for 2nd with 72 RBI between AA Montgomery and AAA Durham. He also started at third base and hit cleanup for the U.S. team in the 2015 All-Star Futures Game at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.
Kelly, 22, reached base safely in 112 of 130 games with Clinton in 2016, batting .293 (141x481) with 70 runs scored, 30 doubles, 4 triples, 7 home runs, 58 RBI, 11 HBP, 63 walks and 21 stolen bases. He was the one of four LumberKings to be selected to the Midwest League Mid-Season All-Star team, going 1-for-3 with 1 run scored, 1 double and 1 RBI as the starting first baseman. Kelly was selected in the 38th round by the Mariners in the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of UC Santa Barbara. In two minor league seasons in the Mariners organization, he batted .281 (162x577) with 93 runs scored, 33 doubles, 8 triples, 7 home runs and 69 RBI in 161 games.
Kittredge, 26, went 3–3 with 7 saves and a 3.50 ERA (28 ER, 72.0 IP) in 37 games/5 starts combined between AA Jackson and AAA Tacoma in 2016. The right-handed reliever limited opponents to a .268 (76x284) average, while walking 19 and striking out 84. The Spokane, WA native, Kittredge attended the University of Washington from 2009–11 and signed with Seattle as a non-drafted free agent on August 21, 2011. In 6 seasons in the minor leagues for the Mariners, Kittredge went 16–12 with 17 saves and a 4.49 ERA (171 ER, 342.2 IP) in 186 games/9 starts.
Thompson, 22, appeared in only 3 games/1 start with Rookie Arizona League Mariners in 2016 due to injuries. He was originally selected by the Mariners in the 4th round of the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Minnesota. In his professional debut in 2015, he with 2–1 with a 2.36 ERA (7 ER, 26.2 IP) in 9 games/5 starts with the Mariners in the Arizona League.
