Jarrod Washburn Trade Purely Bottom Line

The Mariners’ Jarrod Washburn trade involving Luke French was simply a financial move, nothing more, nothing less.  The comparison of Luke French being a younger version of Jarrod Washburn is exactly the kind of thing an organization would say to keep fans excited about the team after unloading one of this year’s best players.   

The Mariners would never just say that they were trading Washburn for purely financial reasons.  They know their fans don’t want to hear that.

The Mariners were looking to free themselves from a big contract and Luke French was a small contract that fit their budget.  Mariners fans shouldn’t set their expectations too high for the young lefty.  Detroit would not have traded French for Washburn if French was exactly like Washburn. 

Luke French may be similar to Washburn in his build and style, but don’t expect him to be a league leader in ERA anytime soon.  He’s started against two legitimate offenses this year. 

Texas lit him up and he held the Yanks to two runs, one earned.  The rest of the teams he has faced are below average to average.  The Yankees are home run hitters, they swing hard.  

A left-handed change-up they’ve never seen before can cause issues for that style of a team.  French has had a high number of hits and base runners in every start this year.  Most recently, he made the Royals— a team that hasn’t had anything to play for since May—look good.

Remember, Washburn himself was an underachiever for the Mariners.  He was surrounded by a stacked Angles team in Los Angeles that helped make him an above average pitcher. 

His best year with the Angels was in a free-agency year, on a World Series champion team.  In Seattle, with the exception of this year—another contract year—he was average.  He hovered in the mid-four ERA range in his tenure in Seattle until now.  Detroit wanted him because he’s won a World Series before and he’s hot this season. 

This trade saves the Mariners money in a year they're not contending.

Don’t judge this trade as a bust or mistake, but don’t believe this deal will pay out huge for the Mariners in the future, just consider what it is—a bottom line deal.

This is just a standard operation for a professional organization. 

For the sake of Mariners fans, hopefully 23-year-old French does develop into a strong starter.  He may be a bigger part of the team if he develops his pitches and command more, but he’s a few years away.  Until then, expect him to get hit pretty hard.