Thanksgiving Surprise, Dbacks ship Jean Segura to Seattle

The Seattle Mariners traded right-handed pitcher Taijuan Walker and shortstop Ketel Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for shortstop Jean Segura and two prospects.

While some fans saw Segura’s 2016 outburst as just that, an outburst, many believe that his 203-hit season is an outlier of his entire career as a whole, and the Diamondbacks may have made the right move in dealing him while his value couldn’t get any higher.

Haniger and Curtis also provide roster flexibility.

The #Dbacks have acquired pitcher Taijuan Walker and infielder Ketel Marte from the Mariners for Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger and Zac Curtis. pic.twitter.com/wi48xeYu7U – Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) November 24, 2016 Arizona also acquires Marte, a 23-year-old shortstop with 713 major league plate appearances under his belt. In a season in which the D-Backs were supposed to flip the switch and play for October baseball, everyone flopped.

Walker has always been viewed as the heir apparent to Felix Hernandez atop the Mariners’ rotation, and Marte projected as the club’s shortstop for the future. “Frankly, you have to give to get. and Segura fit this club”.

Segura turns 27 in March.

Segura, a native of the Dominican Republic signed by the Angels as an worldwide free agent in 2007, batted leadoff in 147 games, hitting all of his home runs from that spot, including eight to lead off a game.

“We’re in our window now”, Dipoto said back in September. The D-Backs still have Nick Ahmed, who has been their primary shortstop the last two years barring an injury.

Mitch Haniger, OF: Haniger was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the compensation round of the 2012 draft from Cal Poly. Last season’s Seattle club finished only three games shy of a postseason berth despite a shaky starting rotation and a handful of fairly large holes in the lineup. However, this could spell trouble for Marte because Owings also played 119 games and produced much better numbers.

Still, the Diamondbacks were struck by his athleticism and the fact that 2016 was his first full season in the majors at one position. “We feel he’s ready to transition to the big leagues, and we’re going to give him every opportunity to win playing time”.

Haniger looks like he will compete to be the platoon partner with one of Seth Smith, Ben Gamel or, depending on his ability to play the position, centerfielder Leonys Martin. Haniger was the Diamondbacks’ minor league player of the year after hitting.321 with 25 homers and 94 RBIs between Double-A Mobile and Triple-A Reno.

A former first-round pick by the Mariners, Walker has averaged 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings since making his debut in 2013 at age 21. Age 24, Curtis is a short lefty (listed 5-9, 190) and doesn’t burn the radar, working his fastball at 89-92 miles per hour, but his slider is very good and minor league hitters could not square him up.

Granted, the move might not work out well as far as the rotation goes as Walker appeared likely to be a key piece of the rotation that includes Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton and Nathan Karns for the foreseeable future. “We are comfortable with that group, but we’d like to augment it”. We’d like to augment it. Segura can become a free agent after the 2018 season.