Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto must have woke up Wednesday morning with a scratch in his throat and an itch in his finger, because the cure was to make two more trades. First he acquired center fielder Mallex Smith and reliever Shae Simmons from the Atlanta Braves for minor league lefties Luiz Gohara and Thomas Burrows. Then he flipped Smith, minor league lefty Ryan Yarbrough and shortstop Carlos Vargas to the Tampa Bay Rays for lefty Drew Smyly to help restock his rotation.
This was on the heels of this past Friday's moves that brought in Yovani Gallardo and Jarrod Dyson to Seattle in trades with the Orioles and Royals (in exchange for Seth Smith and Nate Karns, respectively).