Mariners Acquire Vidro
December 19, 2006 by Geoff Young
Filed under Hot Stove
The Seattle Mariners have acquired second baseman Jose Vidro from the Washington Nationals for outfielder Chris Snelling and right-handed pitcher Emiliano Fruto.
The 32-year-old Vidro has spent his entire career with the Expos/Nationals and batted .301/.363/.459 over parts of 10 seasons. Vidro has seen his production decline severely in recent years. Although his batting average remains high (.289 in 2006), it’s becoming increasingly empty; last year saw his slugging percentage dip below .400 for the first time. The Mariners, who apparently intend to use Vidro at DH, are on the hook for $12 million of the $16 million left on his current contract.
Snelling, age 25, has posted tremendous minor-league numbers and done reasonably well in limited opportunities with the Mariners. His biggest problem has been staying healthy. If he can do that, Snelling could be a solid contributor for years to come.
Fruto is a right-handed reliever who turns 23 in June. He spent most of 2006 racking up the strikeouts at Triple-A Tacoma, but also got into 23 games with the big club, posting a 5.50 ERA in his brief stint. Fruto had been the Mariners’ #8 prospect headed into last season according to Baseball America, which noted that “his upside is huge — and so is his potential to flame out quickly.” Sounds to me like the kind of guy a team like the Nationals should be acquiring.
Neither of these kids brings the potential impact of, say, Austin Kearns or Felipe Lopez, but as with the deal that landed those players, Jim Bowden has taken another strong step in the right direction toward rebuilding a franchise. As for the Mariners, I don’t understand this trade from their perspective. Apparently I’m not alone in my confusion.
For $12 million dollars, one would think that the Mariners might be able to get a better DH. Say, why not give Ryan Klesko a shot at a fraction of that price? He’s healthy at last and he seems to still have his approach to every AB intact and able to drive the ball far.
Good call. Klesko would have made a lot of sense for the Mariners. He proved toward the end of last season that his bat is just fine.