The Mariners have acquired outfielder Chris Denorfia from the San Diego Padres for Abraham Almonte and minor league righty Stephen Kohlscheen, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal. CBS Sports' Jon Heyman was first to report the M's had added Denorfia. MLB.com's Greg Johns was the first to report Kohlscheen's role in the trade.
Chris Denorfia traded to Mariners from Padres
Seattle added the versatile outfielder in hopes of chasing the Athletics, the Angels and the second wild card.
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Denorfia, 34, is hitting just .242/.292/.319 this season with one home run and eight stolen bases in 268 plate appearances. He has been a valuable fielder at all three outfield positions in his nine-year career, and although he is struggling at the plate this season, he has posted a career .275/.335/.397 batting line, much of it coming in hitter-hating Petco Park. So long as the Mariners don’t need to put him in center field too often, his defense should be a boost, and it’s almost assured his bat will pick up at least a little in the switch from Petco to Safeco.
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The Mariners needed to take the risk that Denorfia won't rebound. They're three games out of a wild card spot and trailing the ever-improving A's and the AL's second-best team, the Angels, in the AL West. Their left fielders have managed a .657 OPS and their center fielders are at .574: even adjusting for park, those are ugly and in need of a boost. If Denorfia recaptures any of his form from the last four years, in which he posted a 113 OPS+ with the Padres, the Mariners will be glad they acquired him.
If he doesn't, they wouldn't have given up much at all. Almonte has struggled to hit this season as well, batting just .198/.248/.292 with a homer and three stolen bases in 113 plate appearances. In nine minor league seasons in the Yankees and Mariners systems, he hit .269/.348/.402. Despite how long he's been around, Almonte is still just 25, but it's hard to be hopeful for a 25-year-old who isn't hitting in the Pacific Coast League.
Kohlscheen, also 25, reached Triple-A Tacoma for the first time in his career this season. He’s been limited to the bullpen since graduating from rookie ball in 2011, but the 6’6 right-hander has succeeded in the PCL, and has struck out three times more batters than he’s walked in his 330 minor-league innings. He’ll need to stay away from lefties in the majors, though, limiting his usage, since they’ve done a good job of damaging his numbers over the years.
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