The entire baseball world knew that the Mariners were looking for help on offense during Deadline week. They took another big step in that regard on Monday afternoon.

Days after acquiring outfielder Randy Arozarena from the Rays, Seattle made another big splash, agreeing to acquire two-time All-Star Justin Turner from the Blue Jays in exchange for outfield prospect RJ Schreck, the teams announced.

TRADE DETAILS
Mariners to acquire: 1B/3B Justin Turner
Blue Jays to acquire: OF RJ Schreck (ranked SEA's No. 29 prospect)

The Mariners are also absorbing the remainder of Turner’s $13 million salary for 2024, a source told MLB.com's Daniel Kramer. The 39-year-old, who is still due roughly $4.3 million this year, is a free agent at season’s end.

With the Blue Jays struggling to a 49-56 record entering Monday, the time was right for Toronto to deal Turner. The Mariners, who lead MLB in runs allowed per game but ranked only 28th in runs scored per game entering Monday, were a natural choice to seize the opportunity to beef up their offense.

Turner joined the Blue Jays as a veteran bat on a one-year deal this offseason as the club tried to fill the role left by Brandon Belt. Turner has shown flashes throughout this season, but entered Monday batting .254 with a .720 OPS and just six home runs, playing mostly as a DH with a handful of starts at first and third.

Turner did have a rough patch earlier in the season that manager John Schneider linked to an illness Turner dealt with, which has to be factored in here, but Turner’s postseason experience is clearly part of the appeal. Turner went to the postseason in nine consecutive seasons with the Dodgers from 2014 to ‘22, hitting .270 with 13 home runs and an .830 OPS over 86 career postseason games. He also has a ring from the 2020 World Series.

Even if Turner is more of a role player down the stretch, that experience brings serious value and he’s hit left-handed pitching well enough in 2024 to be used in a platoon.

The 24-year-old Schreck, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 29 prospect in Seattle's system, was taken by the Mariners in the ninth round of the 2023 Draft. The California native has hit .250/.392/.444 with 12 homers in 86 games between High-A and Double-A this year. He spent four years at Duke, where he posted a 1.037 OPS with 18 homers in 2021, but he slipped to an .887 OPS the following season as he dealt with a hamstring issue.

Because of the COVID year, Schreck had another year of eligibility and transferred to Vanderbilt. After a .306/.454/.588 line with the Commodores in his fifth collegiate season, the Mariners took him in the ninth round as a money saver, signing him for just $75,000. After a modest pro debut, he showed more offensive potential than expected this season, earning a promotion from High-A Everett to Double-A Arkansas.

Schreck's standout skill is his very advanced approach from the left side of the plate. After recording more walks than strikeouts with Vanderbilt, he's kept that kind of plate discipline up so far as a pro, striking out just 13.7 percent of the time with Everett while walking in 16.6 percent of his plate appearances. The California native is mostly about seeing pitches and putting the ball in play, but he has just enough power to keep hitters honest, hitting 12 homers before his promotion. He's a below-average runner, but he's smart on the basepaths and will steal a base now and again.

Because he's not fleet of foot, Schreck is limited to an outfield corner, where he's a capable defender. He has a little bit of a tweener profile because he doesn't have the pop to be a regular presence in a big league lineup as a corner outfielder. But he's already exceeded expectations in many ways and because of his feel to hit could find his way into a fourth or fifth outfielder role.