AL East trade: Rays trade Smith to Mariners for Zunino

There is a trade in the AL East.

The Rays are sending outfielder Mallex Smith to the Mariners for catcher Mike Zunino and outfielder Guillermo Heredia.

Smith is 25. He hit .296/.367/.406 with 10 triples, 40 steals, 47 walks and 98 strikeouts. The numbers look good, but then there was a .366 BABIP that might just not be sustainable. But then he is fast and his BABIP was .347 in 2017. His speed might be nice to have in the Mariners large park.

Zunino is 27. He’s had 6 season in the MLB with the Mariners. He didn’t hit much this season, .210/.259/.410 with 20 home runs. In 2017, he hit .251/.331/.509. Bringing him to a smaller park might not be a bad thing for a guy who homers or strikes out (mostly strikes out). He has very good framing numbers.

Heredia is 27. He’s played 3 seasons with the Mariners. Last year he hit .244/.318/.342 in 125 games, right about his career numbers. He’s mostly played CF, but UZR doesn’t like him in center. He has a -12.4 UZR/150 career in center. Of course, knowing the Rays, he’ll win the batting crown next year.

Let’s have a poll: