Blue Jays Trade Teoscar Hernández to the Seattle Mariners

The Toronto Blue Jays have traded Teoscar Hernández to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for reliever Erik Swanson and prospect Adam Macko.

TORONTO, ONTARIO - OCTOBER 08: Teoscar Hernandez #37 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates after hitting a home run to center field against Robbie Ray #38 of the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning in game two of the American League Wild Card Series at Rogers Centre on October 08, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

The Toronto Blue Jays made some moves today, sending outfielder Teoscar Hernández to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for RHP Erik Swanson and pitching prospect LHP Adam Macko.

Hernández has been a staple on the Blue Jays roster since 2018, a year after he was acquired from the Houston Astros. In a Jays’ uniform, the Dominican product owns a .263/.320/.503 slash line with 129 home runs and 369 RBI to a .823 OPS. He owns a 10.6 bWAR since joining Toronto and earned two Silver Slugger awards and an All-Star appearance in 2021, becoming one of the top batters in the Jays lineup.

The righty-batter joins the same team he knocked two home runs off in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card and is free agent eligible next offseason with MLBTR predicting that the outfielder will earn $14.1 million in his last year of arbitration.

Coming back to the Blue Jays is reliever Erik Swanson and prospect pitcher Adam Macko.

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Swanson has pitched well over the past two seasons, earning a collective 2.33 ERA through 90 games and 89.0 innings. He has earned a 10.6 K.9 through that time and sports a three-pitch mix featuring a mid-90s fastball, splitter, and slider. The right-hander was one of the top relievers last season, sitting in the top 90th percentile in numerous categories like chase rate, average exit velocity, xERA/xwOBA, and xSLG. He isn’t free agent eligible until after the 2025 season.

The Blue Jays also acquired prospect Adam Macko, the Mariners 8th ranked prospect. Born in Slovakia, Macko went to high school in Alberta as part of Vauxhall Academy. A former seventh-round pick back in 2019, Macko made eight starts in High-A last year, pitching to a 3.99 ERA through 38.1 innings, holding opponents to a .234 batting average while striking them out at a 14.09 K/9.

This move frees up some salary space for the Blue Jays to make some moves this offseason, as the club was likely to trade one of Hernández or Lourdes Gurriel Jr. this winter with both players eligible for free agency following the 2023 season.

The Jays now add another starting pitching prospect to the farm system while also adding a strong bullpen arm that should help them next season and beyond.