BOSTON -- Looking to add some pitching depth to their organization, the Mariners acquired right-handed starter Zach Lee from the Dodgers on Sunday night in exchange for shortstop Chris Taylor.
General manager Jerry Dipoto said Lee will be assigned to Triple-A Tacoma, where the Mariners hope he might blossom in a new environment.
The Mariners have two starters -- Felix Hernandez and Wade Miley -- on the 15-day disabled list and Taijuan Walker is dealing with tendinitis in the arch of his right foot that has caused him problems in his last two starts, including Sunday's five-inning outing in a 2-1 loss at Boston. Dipoto said the trade wasn't related to the current injury situation, but with more of an eye toward the long-term.
Lee, 24, was a first-round Draft pick of the Dodgers out of McKinney (Texas) High School in 2010 who has gone 7-5 with a 4.89 ERA in 13 starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City this year. The 6-foot-4, 227-pounder made one Major League start for the Dodgers last year, giving up 11 hits and seven runs in 4 2/3 innings to the Mets on July 25.
Taylor, 25, has played 86 games for the Mariners over the past three seasons, putting up a .240/.296/.296 line with no homers and 10 RBIs in 233 at-bats. He played in two games for Seattle this season, going 1-for-3 at the plate but committing a pair of costly errors at shortstop before being sent back to Triple-A Tacoma.
Taylor hit .311 with three homers and 29 RBIs in 62 games for the Rainiers this season. He was a fifth-round pick by the Mariners in the 2012 Draft out of Virginia.
Lee was the Dodgers' Minor League Pitcher of the Year last season when he went 11-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 19 starts for Oklahoma City.
Lee turned down a scholarship to play quarterback at Louisiana State when the Dodgers gave him a club-record $5.25 million signing bonus after drafting him with the 28th pick in 2010. He was rated as the Dodgers' No. 21 prospect by MLBPipeline.com.