It took a little while for the Winter Meetings to get going this year, particularly considering the lull of activity earlier this offseason, but once the biggest piece, Shelby Miller, fell on Tuesday night, things have started to move. Today, another of the most well known trade block assets was moved when the Milwaukee Brewers sent first basemen Adam Lind to the Seattle Mariners. Heading back to the Brewers in the deal were Carlos Herrera, Daniel Missaki and Freddy Peralta, three 19 year old pitchers who are all at A level or below. Andy Wilkins was designated for assignment by Seattle to make room for Lind.
Welcome to Seattle, Adam Lind! First baseman acquired from Brewers for three minor leaguers. https://t.co/QnvnGWMyvn pic.twitter.com/DOtQjbZx1R
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) December 9, 2015
Lind played just one season in Milwaukee after being traded from Toronto for Marco Estrada (who also made news recently with his two year, $26M deal with the Blue Jays) and is under contract for one more year at $8 million. As with their trades of Carlos Gomez, Gerardo Parra, and others during the season, this is both a way to cut salary for the Brewers and to add to their minor league system. Given the incredible talent at the top of the NL Central, it would take a lot more than adding a free agent or two to give the Brewers a chance to compete, so just like the Reds, they are looking to the future.
The AL West is a completely different situation and despite the fact that the Mariners finished second to last, they are in a much better position to compete in 2016. They have been among the most active to add pieces this offseason, attempting to add complimentary pieces to their expensive core of Robinson Cano and Felix Hernandez.
Lind will turn 32 in 2016, but had his best year since 2009 in 2015 and Steamer predicts him to have a similar year next year with a predicted line of .275/.351/.450. One aspect where Lind is expected to regress is on defense, where he is already one of the worst defensive first basemen in the league. While he had a slightly better year in 2015, Steamer predicts that he will be back to his usual 10 runs worse than the average defender, making him a DH candidate, possibly in a platoon situation with another poor defender, Nelson Cruz.
The Mariners also have Jesus Montero as a 1B/DH, but there is no question that Lind is a huge upgrade over the incumbent. Although Montero, Lind, and Cruz are all high strikeout rate poor defenders, the trio could fit together well to a point, as Montero and Cruz are both right handers and Lind is absolutely horrific against left handed pitching.
| Lind Career | PA | 2B | HR | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| vs RHP | 3,294 | 193 | 145 | 284 | 554 | .293 | .354 | .509 |
| vs LHP | 1,004 | 35 | 21 | 55 | 255 | .213 | .259 | .327 |
When looking at things this way, the low price paid by the Mariners makes sense. They are essentially purchasing half a player for a single year. Compared to last season, when the Mariners had the third worst first base production in baseball, Lind is a huge improvement against all pitchers, but if they want to make the most of him, they will use him less often, either platooning him with current players or buying another part time 1B/DH type (Mike Napoli has been mentioned).
