This dude, AKA Jerry Dipoto, the General Manager of the Seattle Mariners, has a problem. His addiction has been running wild since he became General Manager. I’m not sure if he can be fixed to. Not sure if he has ADHD and can’t just relax, or has never smoked weed before and needs to take a deep breathe and relax. Either way, he is addicted. To trading.

The Rays and Mariners (surprise, surprise) have made the first major trade of the 2018-2019 off season with the Mariners trading away former Florida Gator stand out catcher Mike Zunino, outfielder Guillermo Heredia, and minor leaguer Michael Plassmeyer, a former 4th round pick out of Missouri with one season or professional baseball under his belt. The Rays are trading away outfielder Mallex Smith and former 2nd round pick out of LSU, Jake Fraley.

The Rays seem to be selling high on Mallex Smith who enjoyed a breakout campagin of sorts finally getting the chance to play everyday. Through 141 games, Mallex led the American League in triples with 10, while stealing 40 bases 2nd in the league behind Whit Merrifields 45– and having a triple slash of .296/.367/.406. Pretty good for a guy who had to wait for injuries for guaranteeing a spot in the starting lineup. Jake Fraley started out his professional career not on the best note but was rejuvenated in 2018 in high A ball as he hit .347/.415/.547 while having 19 doubles, seven triples, and four home runs, while also stealing 11 bases. So it seems that he got all the bad baseball out of his system early in his career, so things are looking up for the young man.

As for the great Tampa Bay Rays, they are receiving a catcher who has had one random year where he hit .251, other than that Zunino hasn’t had a season where he hit over .214- which was his rookie season. Zunino, however is known for his prolific power, having hit over 20 home runs in 3 of his six seasons and is known as a great defensive backstop. Heredia is more of a cheap depth signing in my opinion. Most likely will shuttle between triple-A and the MLB next season unless he impresses during spring training and earns himself a bench spot. In three big league seasons, Heredia is a career .244/.321/.342 hitter. The player that is a mystery player is this man Michael Plassmeyer. Like I said, he is a 2018 4th round pick out of Missouri with only one professional season under his belt. He is quite intriguing though. Thanks to a website called “Rayscoloredglasses.com” I was able to get a quick scouting report that reads like this for Mr. Plassmeyer-

As for a scouting report, he employs a high three-quarter arm slot. He relies on his reliable above average control of the strike zone. At Mizzou, Plassmeyer lived in the upped 80’s and lower 90’s, occasionally bumping it up to 92 MPH in some starts

Along with that low 90’s fastball, he also has a change-up and slider in his arsenal. With a bit of a slower fastball, you can tell just by that he is not overpowering. However, he did strike out 44 batters through 24 innings, starting 12 of his 13 appearances. Who knows, he could end up as a back-end starter or be a force out of the bullpen.

There you have it, Mariners GM is addict. Legit addicted to trades. Every off-season he seems to just get drunk, throw darts at the wall with all GM’s phone numbers on it, and figure a trade out with whatever team he hits. Not a bad strategy. Hopefully he’s drinking liquor. Lil Bacardi 151 action.

Anyways, Rays up, Sting em, Go fucking Rays baby!