Mariners acquire prospect Thomas from Mets for Stanek

CHICAGO -- Jerry Dipoto has his foot firmly on the gas pedal.

The Mariners’ president of baseball operations, along with general manager Justin Hollander, executed the club’s third trade in less than 24 hours and just minutes before the team took the field for its series opener against the White Sox, acquiring Triple-A outfielder Rhylan Thomas in exchange for veteran reliever Ryne Stanek.

TRADE DETAILS
Mariners receive: OF Rhylan Thomas (Mets’ No. 30 prospect by MLB Pipeline)
Mets receive: RHP Ryne Stanek

The move follows Seattle’s acquisitions of All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena from the Rays in the wee hours of Thursday night into Friday, and high-leverage reliever Yimi García from the Blue Jays as the Mariners reported to Guaranteed Rate Field for Friday’s game. This most recent deal freed up a 40-man roster spot, bringing the total to 39.

It also came with some intrigue to Seattle’s overall bullpen construction, given that Stanek has been the club’s primary setup man to Andrés Muñoz, and that even with the addition of García -- and the return of Gregory Santos from the injured list earlier this month -- the club viewed leverage arms as a need ahead of next Tuesday’s Trade Deadline.

Santos suffered a right knee injury in Wednesday’s game but an MRI “came back OK,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said Friday, putting him in line to return as soon as Saturday.

It’s likely that money was in play with this trade, too, along with Stanek’s recent struggles.

The Blue Jays did not send any cash along with García, which put the Mariners on the hook for the pro-rated remainder of his $6 million salary for this season. Stanek, meanwhile, is earning $4 million with incentives that could take it to $6 million, with $250,000 bonuses for reaching 50, 60 and 70 appearances; he’s currently at 46. He’ll also earn a $250,000 assignment bonus as part of the trade.

Both Stanek and García will become free agents at season’s end.

Stanek, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Friday, has pitched and executed in high-stakes spots but has also experienced uneven results. In 10 appearances over the past month, he’s surrendered seven earned runs in 7 2/3 innings (8.22 ERA), over which opponents have hit him for an .894 OPS. He also experienced back spasms on July 14 in Anaheim but has since returned to make two appearances.

Overall, he’s carried a 4.38 ERA (86 ERA+, where league average is 100) and a 1.33 WHIP to go with 44 strikeouts, 17 walks and five homers allowed.

Thomas is hitting .265/.318/.387 (.705 OPS) with 19 doubles, five homers, 31 RBIs, 11 stolen bases and 21 walks in 74 games between Triple-A Syracuse and Double-A Binghamton. He’s played every outfield position while only committing two errors.

The 5-foot-10, 170-pounder has appeared in parts of three Minor League seasons in the Mets organization, after being selected by the club in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of the University of Southern California. For his career, he’s hit .291/.363/.393 (.756 OPS) with 92 runs, 36 doubles, two triples, eight homers, 60 RBIs, 20 stolen bases and 69 walks.