The Mariners traded their one-time closer, Anthony Swarzak, for the Braves’ one-time closer, Arodys Vizcaino today. So far, so normal for a trade involving the M’s – there’s a bullpen arm, there’s targeting players in their final year of arb or contract. But this trade isn’t like most of the others in that Arodys Vizcaino will never play for the Mariners.
Vizcaino had a solid season last year, with 16 saves and a low ERA thanks to a lot of strikeouts and the resultant high strand rate. But it was cut short when Vizcaino’s shoulder began troubling him, and after a couple of games this season, that shoulder issue was back and worse than ever.