On Friday, the Seattle Mariners made a huge trade, shipping out former American League Cy young winner Robbie Ray to the San Francisco Giants for slugging outfielder Mitch Haniger and pitcher Anthony DeSclafani.
When DeSclafani was acquired, M's fans immediately wondered: Why? After all, the team already has five starters with Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller. Was the team planning on trading one of those arms away and using DeSclafani in the rotation?
Mariners' President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto outlined the plan for the newly-acquired righty after the trade was made final, and helped put M's fans' minds at ease.
Per "Circling Seattle Sports" on social media:
Dipoto says that Anthony DeSclafani projects as the "6th" starter in the rotation, and he'll likely be more in a long relief role.
When talking about DeSclafani right now, Dipoto points to the fact that the Mariners likely won't go through the season with all five starters in the rotation healthy.
That's certainly a smart plan from Dipoto and for the organization. Given that Woo and Miller will be rookies in 2024, there are bound to be clunkers and short outings. DeSclafani can help protect the team when that happens. Furthermore, if Miller and Woo are up against innings limits, he can step in as a spot-starter.
And there's also the injury factor too. Just last year, the team lost Marco Gonzales and Robbie Ray to major injuries, so you always need to be prepared for it to happen again.
DeSclafani is 33-years-old and has pitched in parts of nine seasons with the Marlins, Reds and Giants. He's 54-56 lifetime with a 4.20 ERA.
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