Seattle Mariners trade Matthew Lawson for Cleveland Indians' pitcher Aaron Laffey – MLB Update
The Seattle Mariners acquired pitcher Aaron Laffey from the Cleveland Indians yesterday to replace Minor League in-fielder Matthew Lawson. Mariners’ General Manager Jack Zduriencik was excited with the addition of Laffey, as he said, "With Aaron, we felt
we had the opportunity to acquire a left-handed pitcher with Major League experience. We will bring him to Spring Training and give him a chance to compete for a position on our pitching staff."
The 25-year-old Laffey has a Win-Loss record of 18-21 with 4.41 Earned Run Average over four Major League seasons. He has a 2-3 win record and a 4.53 ERA with the Indians in 29 games of the last Major League Baseball season, counting five starts when he
went 2-2 with an ERA of 3.60.
It is not certain if the Mariners will use Laffey as a starter or a reliever, as he was competing for the fifth position in the Indians' alternating line-up.
The Mariners’ have a fair number of contenders already competing for the final two revolving spots behind exchangers Felix Hernandez, Jason Vargas and Doug Fister. Experienced Erik Bedard and draftee prospect Michael Pineda have a very good chance of filling
the spots if they remain fit, as Luke French, David Pauley and Nate Robertson are also looking for place in the roster.
Mariners’ Manager Eric Wedge and pitching coach Carl Willis both displayed interst in Laffey during the earlier period with the Indians, as he was a 16th-round Draft choice in 2003.
The club does not have a number of skilled lefties in the bull-pen session, as Garrett Olson is the only left-handed reliever. Laffey has one Minor League choice pending, and the Mariners could propel him to a Triple-A spot.
Laffey has pitched one inning during Spring Training for the Indians, as he did not give up any runs, but only one hit. He was listed to join the Mariners on 3rd March 2011.
In-fielder Lawson is one of four players that the Mariners acquired in 2010 from the Texas Rangers in the Cliff Lee agreement which also included Justin Smoak, Josh Lueke and Blake Beavan. Lawson strikes .293 with nine homers, 75 runs and 56 Run Batted In. He
was not a member of the Mariners' Major League squad.
To make an opportunity for Laffey on the 40-man line-up, Shawn Kelley was positioned on the 60-day disabled list, as he was improving from fractional Tommy John surgery and is not scheduled to return until June 2011.
It will be interesting to see how Laffey manages to adapt to the Mariners team.
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