Mariners Acquire Vogelbach

The Seattle Mariners made a trade yesterday afternoon, moving pitchers Mike Montgomery and Jordan Pries to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for first baseman Dan Vogelbach and starting pitcher Paul Blackburn.

Vogelbach can really hit. He’s been with Iowa all season, batting .318 with a PCL-leading .425 on-base percentage. He has power, too: he’s hit 18 doubles, two triples, and 16 home runs while compiling a .548 slugging percentage.

Listed as a first baseman, Vogelbach’s best position is the batter’s box. He was blocked in the Chicago Cubs organization (by Anthony Rizzo), and needed to be traded to an American League team with designated hitter availability.

Vogelbach joins the Rainiers tomorrow in Salt Lake City. He’ll make up for the power the Rainiers lost when Mike Zunino was recalled yesterday. Look for Vogelbach and D.J. Peterson to switch between the first base and DH spots for the rest of the season.

Tacoma loses starting pitcher Pries, who has had three straight strong outings since coming up from Double-A Jackson. Pries spent most of the 2014 and 2015 seasons in Tacoma’s starting rotation, and when healthy he has been solid. We wish him the best with his new organization.

Blackburn, the 22-year-old righty acquired in the deal, will report to Double-A Jackson.

The Rainiers will need a starter for Sunday, to take Pries’ spot in the rotation. There are several strong candidates in Double-A.

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: The Rainiers eight-game win streak ended emphatically, as the team was shut out by Oklahoma City, 7-0. Dodgers top prospect Jose De Leon looked terrific, keeping Rainiers off-balance with his change-up for eight innings while striking out ten. It was the first time Tacoma has been shut out since April 26.

Roster Moves: Jordan Pries was traded to the Cubs and will report to Iowa, so Tacoma has a hole in the starting rotation which needs to be filled by Sunday. Dan Vogelbach will join the Rainiers tomorrow in Salt Lake City. Luis Sardinas is not with the Rainiers – he flew to Toronto with the Mariners as a precaution in case Ketel Marte is not recovered from his illness.

Today: Oklahoma City (54-42) at Tacoma (55-41-1), 7:05.

Opponent Affiliation: Los Angeles Dodgers.

Season Series: Tacoma leads, 2-1.

Starting Pitchers: RHP Brock Stewart (3-0, 3.23) at RHP Jarrett Grube (1-1, 4.62).

Hot Rainiers: Guillermo Heredia has hit safely in ten straight games, and 19 of 22 games since joining the Rainiers… Rob Brantly is 9-for-22 with two home runs in his last six games.

Look Out For: Austin Barnes carries an eight-game hitting streak into tonight’s game… Rob Segedin is 5-for-9 in this series; he was Oklahoma City’s all-star and participated in the Triple-A Home Run Derby.

Ex-Rainiers: Welcome back, Logan Bawcom. Bawcom pitched three seasons for Tacoma, 2013-2015, and was a big part of the Rainiers community outreach by participating in many volunteer events.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 6:50 on South Sound Sports 850 AM. The broadcast also streams online via the TuneIn app – just click here.

PCL Scoreboard: Follow all Pacific Coast League games in real-time with links to Gameday screens right here.

Links:

• The Rainiers game story supports what we saw: Jose De Leon pitched a great game.
• Here’s the story on the trade from the TNT.
• John McGrath has a well-researched column on Dan Vogelbach.
• Matt Calkins writes that the trade does not mean the Mariners are “sellers.“
• The Mariners beat the White Sox with a walk-off home run by Leonys Martin on Wednesday afternoon. It was the Mariners MLB-leading sixth walk-off home run of the season.
• Bob Dutton’s Mariners Notebook leads with Adam Lind returning to Toronto, and has some ideas on the team’s upcoming starting rotation options.
• Some bad news: Mariners first round draft pick Kyle Lewis is out for the season – and maybe the start of next season – as he requires major knee surgery.
• More from The News Tribune’s excellent series of Ken Griffey Jr. Hall of Fame stories: on Griffey’s move to the Cincinnati Reds, and his relationship with the fans.

PCL Game Reports:

• Alex Bregman and Preston Tucker each had three hits as Fresno won at Round Rock, 8-5. The Austin paper has a story on Bregman and Joey Gallo.
• Reno scored twice in the ninth to tie, and beat Colorado Springs in the tenth inning 5-4.
• Sacramento rolled to a 10-4 win at New Orleans.
• Albuquerque also saw a long winning streak end – a nine-gamer – with a 7-5 loss to Nashville.
• Cagey veteran Jerome Williams found away to keep the Chihuahuas in check, and Memphis beat El Paso 10-3.
• Salt Lake and Iowa split a doubleheader as Dexter Fowler ended his rehabilitation assignment.
• Balbino Fuenmayor homered twice to help Omaha down Las Vegas, 8-2.

After tonight, the Rainiers head to Salt Lake for the weekend. The team returns to Cheney Stadium for a nine-game homestand starting on Tuesday.