For the second time in a week, Aaron Harang has been traded. The Los Angeles Dodgers entered Spring Training with eight major league starters and were widely speculated to be trading one not soon after the start of the regular season.
Last week, Los Angeles swapped Harang for catcher, Ramon Hernandez and sent Colorado $4.25 million dollars. After being immediately designated for assignment, the Rockies flipped Harang to the Mariners for minor league reliever, Steven Hensley and also sent cash Seattle’s way.
Harang’s contract calls for a $7 million price tag this year and a $2 million buyout. The 35 year old posted a 3.61 ERA in 179.2 innings last season and figured to be battling for the fifth spot in the rotation, but peripherals from last season implied a major dropoff in production and it’s likely the Dodgers just wanted some catching depth.
The Mariners figure to be the only team possibly getting substance out of the two trades, having actually acquired Harang himself. Hensley posted a 6.27 ERA and had nearly a 1:1 K to BB ratio in just over 37 innings in AAA last season, so this was nothing more than a straight up acquisition of a fifth starter.
The move means Blake Beavan is likely to lose his spot in the rotation and Kameron Loe has been designated for assignment to make room for Harang on the roster. Loe has given up six home runs in just under seven innings this season and Harang can provide a short-term solution as an experienced arm behind Felix Hernandez in 2013. The Mariners are known to have the best pitching prospects in baseball and now have a veteran stopgap signed to a short-term deal.
