The Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday traded right-hander Chase De Jong to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Minor League shortstop Drew Jackson and Minor League pitcher Aneurys Zabala. The trade leaves the Dodgers with a vacant spot on their 40-man roster.
Los Angeles selected the contracts of De Jong, plus Kyle Farmer and Jacob Rhame last November in order to protect against potentially losing either in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft. De Jong was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the second round in 2012.
The Long Beach, Calif. native went 14-5 with a 2.86 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 125 strikeouts in 141.2 innings over 25 starts for Double-A Tulsa last season. He ranked first in the Texas League in wins and WHIP, second in ERA and fourth in strikeouts.
De Jong was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Year and was named to the post-season All-Star Team. De Jong was promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City in September and allowed just one run while collecting eight strikeouts over 5.1 innings in his first start.
De Jong allowed a combined nine runs and recorded nine strikeouts in 10 innings pitched across two postseason starts for OKC. Los Angeles acquired the right-hander from the Blue Jays in July 2015, along with Tim Locastro, in exchange for a bonus slot.
Jackson, 23, batted .258/.323/.345 over 124 games with High-A Bakersfield last season. He was selected by the Mariners in the fifth round of the 2015 Draft. Jackson was rated the Mariners’ No. 7 prospect by Baseball America.
Zabala, 20, appeared in 16 games in the Rookie League in 2016, going 1-5 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 28 strikeouts in 25 innings. Zabala is a combined 4-13 with a 4.49 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in 44 games (12 starts) with the Dominican Summer League Mariners and the organization’s Rookie-Level affiliate.
