The Los Angeles Dodgers officially announced their trade with the Seattle Mariners, sending veteran backup catcher Carlos Ruiz to the Pacific Northwest in exchange for left-handed relief pitcher Vidal Nuno.
The Mariners are picking up the $4.5 million club option on Ruiz, who waived his no-trade clause. He essentially replaces Chris Iannetta on the Mariners’ roster. Seattle declined their $4.25 million option on the 33-year-old late last week.
Los Angeles acquired Ruiz from the Philadelphia Phillies in August in exchange for fellow catcher A.J. Ellis.
It marked the first time Ellis and Ruiz were joining a new team in their respective careers. Ruiz went on to appear in 14 games with the Dodgers, batting .278/.350/.333 with two doubles and three RBI.
In seven postseason games (two starts), the 37-year-old went 3-for-11 with one double, one home run and four RBI.
Nuno was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 48th round of the 2009 Draft. He the became a New York Yankees farmhand, and in July 2014 was traded by New York to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Brandon McCarthy.
Nuno was included in the June 2015 trade that sent Mark Trumbo from Arizona to Seattle. In 87 games (11 starts) with the Mariners over the past two seasons, Nuno went 2-5 with a 3.85 ERA, 4.67 FIP and 1.31 WHIP.
This season he yielded a career-worst 10.3 hits per nine innings, but did post a career-high 4.64 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and his 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings was Nuno’s third-best mark of his career.
The 29-year-old is eligible for salary arbitration, and is likely to be utilized by the Dodgers as organizational depth. Even with J.P. Howell reaching free agency this winter, the club has Grant Dayton and Adam Liberatore as their primary left-handed relievers.
