Shortly after Wednesday’s blog was posted, the Seattle Mariners announced a trade: Tacoma infielder Donovan Walton was sent to the San Francisco Giants for a Class-A pitching prospect named Prelander Berroa.
This is a classic case of a trade that should be very good for a player that we have enjoyed watching, but is not good at all for the immediate future of the Tacoma Rainiers.
Walton has been a terrific player for Tacoma, producing at the plate and in the field. He was a key member of our 2021 league championship squad, and he just seems like a winning player. However, he was blocked in the Mariners organization by the trio of J.P. Crawford, Adam Frazier, and Abraham Toro. Last year when Walton got called up, he barely played. This year he spent two weeks in Seattle and appeared in one game, as a pinch-runner. The Mariners simply don’t have room for him.
So, they traded him to the Giants for a 22-year-old Class-A starter with a high strikeout rate and an unusual name (Prelander?) who could end up being a big leaguer down the road.
It’s good for Walton because he gets a fresh opportunity with a new organization. I became a Donovan Walton believer last year: if a major league team installed Walton as their everyday second baseman, just stuck him in the lineup every day and committed to it, I think he would seize the job and be a solid player. I’m not sure that the Giants are going to do that – they have initially sent him to Sacramento – but maybe he’ll get a chance to actually play when they call him up.
As for the Rainiers, welp… we lost one of our best players, and that’s that. Maybe Prelander Berroa will pitch well for Tacoma in 2024 and we’ll look back on this trade and smile.
RAINIERS DAILY
YESTERDAY: Reno scored five runs in the top of the second inning and knocked out Tacoma starter Justus Sheffield, built a 7-2 lead by the 7th inning stretch, and then held on for a 7-6 win over the Rainiers on Wednesday night. The Rainiers showed some fight in the late inning, drawing close when Steven Souza Jr. hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh. Tacoma had the tying run at the plate in the eighth inning, and the game ended with the tying runner at third base in the ninth.
TODAY: Reno Aces (16-16) at Tacoma Rainiers (9-23), 7:05
OPPONENT AFFILIATION: Arizona Diamondbacks.
OPPOSING MANAGER: Gil Velazquez.
SEASON SERIES: Reno leads, 2-0.
PITCHERS: LHP Tommy Henry (1-1, 3.95) at LHP Tommy Milone (0-0, 4.50)
It’s a Tommy battle at Cheney Stadium tonight!
ROSTER MOVES: Yesterday infielder Donovan Walton was traded to the San Francisco Giants organization for Class-A pitcher Prelander Berroa. Tacoma placed pitcher Asher Wojciechowski on the injured list (back stiffness), and the Rainiers added catcher David Shaeffer from Everett and infielder Cesar Izturis Jr. from extended spring training.
HOT HITTERS: Mason McCoy has reached base in 15 straight games, hitting safely in 14 of them with a nine-game hitting streak… Zach Green has a five-game hitting streak, and he has at least one hit in 13 of his last 14 games… Steven Souza Jr. has reached base safely in 11 straight games, and in his last four games he is 8-for-18 with three homers and 11 RBI.
OPPONENT NEWS: Reno won on Sunday against Round Rock, but still went 2-4 in the six-game series… the Aces have a decidedly different look from last year, with a new manager and few returning players… top prospect Alek Thomas was called up on Sunday, so the Rainiers will miss him… Jake McCarthy has a 12-game hitting streak… Yonny Hernandez has reached base in 14 straight games, collecting at least one hit in 13 of them… the Aces have former Rainiers Braden Bishop and Jake Hager… Bishop has a six-game hitting streak.
BROADCAST: All games will be broadcast free on a live audio stream which is available right here.
Unfortunately, there is no traditional terrestrial radio station carrying the games at this time.
PCL SCOREBOARD: Follow all league games in real-time with links to broadcasts and Gameday screens right here.
Links:
- Rhys Hoskins completed the home run trifecta with a grand slam as the Phillies beat the Mariners yesterday, 4-2.
- The Mariners start a tough East coast road trip tomorrow, and Matt Calkins writes that they can’t let the season get away from them on this trip.
- Today’s Mariners Notebook discusses juggling the starting rotation, among other items.
- Mariners Double-A outfield prospect Zach DeLoach appears in today’s Prospect Notebook on Fangraphs. It’s a tepid report.
June 8, 2023