Reviewing The Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners Trade, Who Won?

Reviewing The Braves/Mariners Trade

On November 28, 2016 the Atlanta Braves sent pitchers Rob Whalen and Max Povse to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for outfielder/catcher Alex Jackson and a player to be named later (PTBNL).

This kind of sounds like old news now that the Braves have officially signed Sean Rodriguez and made another trade with the St. Louis Cardinals….but this trade is still fresh on our minds.

One thing we know so far…Jackson destroyed high school pitching and coming out of HS, he was said to be the best bat in the draft.  John Hart was on MLB Network then and said “this is the best high school bat/power combination in this draft and to go along with it, he’s got an outstanding arm.  I think the guy can catch”.

It’s been documented by many now that Jackson has struggled since being drafted in 2014 and hasn’t reached a level above Single-A.  The kid is still only 20-years-old (turns 21 on Christmas day) and still has plenty of potential.

We’ll probably never know the true reasons on why the Mariners so quickly gave up on Jackson, but he’s an Atlanta Brave now.

To get a better feel for this trade — why the Braves did it, why the Mariners did it, who’s the PTBNL — we reached out to our friends at SoDo Mojo (FanSided Seattle Mariners page) to get their thoughts.

Tomahawk Take: Heading into the 2014 MLB draft, I heard Alex Jackson could be drafted #1. When he fell to #6 and to the Mariners what was the thoughts there?

SoDo Mojo: To see him fall to 6th was a great for the M’s. He was a great talent with a lot of upside. I think most Mariners fans thought it was a good choice by former GM Jack Z (of which he didn’t make too many) hence no playoff appearances.

TT: The Mariners decided to switch Jackson from a high school catcher to an outfielder…why do you think they did that and could he move back to the catcher position?

SM: I think the Mariners saw that his power could fade at the catcher position. They probably thought he could be of better use in the outfield to keep him agile as well, since he was such a gifted athlete in high school.

TT: After struggling in low ball for 2.5 years, the Mariners decided to send Jackson back to extended spring training in 2016. MLB.com has noted that the cause was because “he needed to mature both on and off the field”…can you attest to this?

SM: The maturity issues were a problem. They have been discreet and politically correct about not divulging too much info. Unfortunately this happens far too often with young athletes that don’t have enough control, guidance and have instant exposure to future celebrity.

TT: Who do you think this PTBNL is? Do you think it’s a player on the 40-man roster currently?  Who would you not want to see this PTBNL to be?

SM: The player to be named later will at best for you probably be a prospect ranked 25-30 but also maybe a AAA Rainer, not sure. I would hope the player isn’t #30 prospect, Tyler Marlette. He played very well at the catcher position in the AFL and in the long term, the M’s need a solid catcher. Zunino is always iffy at the plate and Ruiz won’t be around for long.

Next: Does New CBA Let the Braves off the International Hook?

TT: As of now, prior to the PTBNL is announced, who do you think won this trade? Why?

SM: I think the Mariners won the trade in the now. Dipoto was able to fill vacancies that needed to be taken care of for this next season. Finding a #5 in the rotation was a question after the Walker trade and we still don’t know what’s happening with Iwakuma. So Whalen especially could be an instant help. Jackson has potential but It’ll be interesting to see if he can become the player he was expected to be