Yankees trade Cortes to Seattle Mariners
Nestor Cortes Jr. has been traded from the New York Yankees to Seattle for $28,300 in international signing bonus pool allocation, the remainder of what the Mariners had available to deal.
A lefthander who turns 25 on Dec. 10, Cortes was 51 with a 5.67 ERA in 32 relief appearances and one start this year after making four relief appearances in his first big league season with the Yankees in 2018.
He was designated for assignment last week to open a roster spot for prospects protected ahead of the winter meeting draft next month.
New York’s 201920 pool total increased to $5,835,800 with Monday’s trade. The Yankees have used $5,762,000 of that, including $5.1 million on Dominican outfielder Jasson Dominguez, $377,500 on Dominican third Enger Castellano and $187,500 on Venezuelan catcher Manuel Palencia.
Seattle has now spent its entire $5.37 million pool and is limited to signing bonuses of $10,000 or less for the current signing year, which ends June 15.
PROSPECT DEAL
The Mariners have finalized a $24 million, sixyear contract with first baseman Evan White, a unusually large deal for a player who hasn’t appeared in a game above DoubleA.
Seattle announced the contract Monday after White completed a physical. The agreement includes options for 202628 and likely will cover all the years White would be eligible for salary arbitration.
The 23yearold was the 17th overall pick in the 2017 amateur draft out of Kentucky. From the time he joined the Mariners’ system he’s been regarded as the club’s first baseman of the future because of his excellent defense and a solid bat at the plate.
“We love the player and we love the person. The combination made it very easy to want to sign him for the better part of the next decade,” Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. “We believe this is the next stage in a longterm investment in our young players, in bringing together young, core players who have a ton of talent and are also highcharacter people.”
Philadelphia infielder Scott Kingery ($24 million for six years) and Chicago White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez ($43 million for six years) agreed in March to lucrative contracts before their big league debuts, but both had played at TripleA.
Seattle envisions White as a major part of its future core, along with fellow top prospects Jarred Kelenic,
Kyle Lewis, Logan Gilbert, Justin Dunn and Justus Sheffield.
White should have a chance to earn the starting job at first base — the Mariners used eight players there last year. Austin Nola and Daniel Vogelbach had the most games at first, but Seattle thinks White is a better defender.
While White’s defense has been highly regarded, his bat isn’t bad, either. He hit .293 with 18 homers and 55 RBIs at DoubleA Arkansas last season. White has hit .296 with an .832 OPS in parts of three seasons in the minors.
REDS ACQUIRE SHAFER
The Cincinnati Reds acquired righthanded reliever Justin Shafer from the Blue Jays for cash.
Shafer has pitched for Toronto the last two seasons. He appeared in six games in 2018 and made 34 appearances last season, going 21 with a save and a 3.86 ERA. Shafer walked 32 batters in 48 innings during his two seasons with Toronto.
The Reds also claimed outfielder Nick Martini off waivers from the San Diego Padres. Outfielder Brian O’Grady and righthander Jimmy Herget were designated for assignment.
Martini split last season between Oakland and San Diego, batting .226 in 32 games with one homer and seven RBIs.