Domingo Santana Traded to Mariners for Ben Gamel, Noah Zavolas

The Milwaukee Brewers traded outfielder Domingo Santana to the Seattle Mariners on Friday in exchange for outfielder Ben Gamel and minor-league pitcher Noah Zavolas. 

Corey Brock of The Athletic and Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times first reported the sides had agreed to a deal. 

Santana enjoyed a breakout 2017 season with the Brew Crew. The right fielder posted a .278/.371/.505 triple-slash line with 30 home runs, 29 doubles and 15 stolen bases in 151 games.

He tallied just five homers and one steal across 85 games in 2018. He was demoted to Triple-A in late June after a sluggish start to the campaign and returned when rosters expanded to 40 in September.

The 26-year-old Dominican Republic native started his professional career in the Philadelphia Phillies' system before getting traded to the Houston Astros in 2011. After a few years of development, he appeared in 20 contests across the 2014 and 2015 seasons for Houston.

Milwaukee acquired him ahead of the 2015 trade deadline as part of the package that sent Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers to the Astros.

Santana showcased his potential with a .792 OPS and 11 homers across 77 games in 2016 and parlayed that into a standout campaign in his first full year in the big leagues.

The 6'5'', 220-pound slugger said overcoming injuries and dealing with some growing pains throughout 2016 was a blessing in disguise.

"I learned a lot from it," he said in September 2017, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. "I learned I couldn't take anything for granted. I learned a lot. It makes me keep my head up when things aren't going my way."

In addition to his struggles at the plate in 2018, he has finished with a negative Defensive Runs Saved figure in his first four years at the major league level and has a minus-14 total overall despite improvement last season, per FanGraphs.

That said, Santana still carries value thanks to his power and the fact he's under team control through the 2021 season, according to Spotrac.

The Mariners' offseason makeover continues after already sending Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to the New York Mets. They also acquired Edwin Encarnacion from the Cleveland Indians. 

All of the promise Santana showed in 2017 makes it a bit surprising the Brewers decided to move him now despite last season's struggles, especially since he can't become a free agent for four years. That said, it's possible the front office didn't think his trade value would recover from 2018.

Looking ahead, he'll join a Mariners lineup that features Encarnacion, Dee Gordon, Kyle Seager and he could take on a middle-of-the-order role if he returns to form.

Gamel had his best offensive season in 2018 with a .272 average and .358 on-base percentage. He doesn't hit for much power—his career-high in homers was 11 in 2016—but his ability to get on base gives him a role as a utility player for the Brewers. 

Zavolas was an 18th-round draft pick in June. The 22-year-old had a 3.03 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 38.2 innings between High-A Modesto and short-season Everett.