ARLINGTON, Texas _ In the hours before the deadline to complete all trades, the Mariners sent a pair of their more experienced relievers to the Washington Nationals _ a team that somehow had a worse bullpen than Seattle.
Sources confirmed right-hander Hunter Strickland, who started the season as the Mariners' closer before getting injured, and lefty Roenis Elias, who has been serving as the closer the last few months, were shipped to the Nationals in exchange for three pitching prospects _ left-handed pitcher Taylor Guilbeau, left-handed pitcher Aaron Fletcher and right-handed pitcher Elvis Alvarado.
Per MLB Pipeline, Guilbeau was rated as the No. 15 prospect in the Nationals organization, and Fletcher was ranked No. 21. Baseball America had Guilbeau at No. 14 and Fletcher at No. 19.
Guilbeau has split time between Class AA and AAA this season as a reliever, posting a 2.89 ERA in 34 appearances. He has 50 strikeouts in 43 2/3 innings pitched. After working as a swing reliever and part-time starter, the move to a full-time reliever has seen Guilbeau's fastball bump up to 95-96 mph. He also has a slider that is effective against lefties.
Fletcher, 23, has gone from Low A to High A and now Class AA this season. Also a reliever, he's made 32 appearances and posted a 1.79 ERA. In 60 1/3 innings pitched, he's struck out 69 batters with 15 walks. He doesn't quite have the power of Guilbeau with his fastball, but he has a deceptive delivery that's also tough on left-handed hitters.
Alvarado, 20, was actually a two-way player for part of his time in the Dominican Summer League. But he was converted to a full-time pitcher this season. He's 2-2 with a 6.00 ERA in two starts and five relief appearances.
The Nationals had one of their top pro scouts covering the Mariners the last few days. He was in Texas on Tuesday night watching Elias notch his 14th save of the season and also saw Strickland make his first outing since coming off the injured list on Sunday in Seattle.
Strickland has missed most of the season with a lat strain. But he does have proven MLB success.
In a market starving for relievers, the Mariners tried to capitalize with two pitchers that were going to command a fair amount of money next season. Elias was going into his second year arbitration eligibility. After a solid season that includes 44 appearances and 14 saves already, his salary of $910,000 was expected to go up. The club control allowed the Mariners to get more in prospect return. Strickland has two more years of arbitration eligibility and made $1.9 million this season.
