How Have the Diaz-Cano-Kelenic Trade Participants Performed?

Over three ago the New York Mets and former general manger Brodie Van Wagenen made a blockbuster trade.

On December 1, 2018, New York acquired all-stars Edwin Díaz and Robinson Canó. In exchange they sent two top-100 prospects, another top-30 organizational prospect, and two veterans. In total, New York sent Jarred Kelenic, Justin Dunn, Gerson Bautista, Jay Bruce, and Anthony Swarzak to Seattle for Canó, Díaz, and $20 million.

Well, given all this time has passed, and plenty has happened since, re-visiting the trade now makes sense. It makes even more sense given the fact the Mets recently released Canó.

So, where did all these pieces of the trade end up? How have they performed?

Let’s take a look before the Mets and Mariners play on Friday for the first time since the trade happened.

The Mets

One half of the duo New York received, as everyone is aware, was recently let go. Canó was designated for assignment then subsequently released at the beginning of May. His stretch with New York certainly did not go as planned.

During a subpar 2019 season, which featured an injury, Cano hit .256 over 390 at-bats. Some thought the 37-year-old might have re-kindled some magic during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. He hit .316 with 10 home runs across only 171 at-bats in his second-year as a Met. However, he was subsequently suspended 162 games for the use of PEDs and missed the whole 2021 season.

In his first appearance back with the Mets, Canó had a decent spring training where he hit .360. However, his lack of power was on full display as he failed to hit a home run and had only two doubles. New York gave him 12 regular-season games to figure it out. Unfortunately, he posted a slash line of .195/.233/.268 and was subsequently released.

Overall, Canó played parts of three seasons with New York. Across 602 total at-bats he slashed .269/.315/.450. In total, Canó hit 24 home runs and drove in 72 runs. And as documented, the Mets are fully on the hook for the remaining $37.6 million he is owed. Interestingly enough, he also is reportedly expected to sign with the San Diego Padres in the coming days.

Díaz, on the other hand, has settled into New York terrifically. He did have a miserable first-year with the team, where he blew numerous saves, lost his closer role, and pitched to a 5.59 ERA.

However, after that, he has been as advertised. Since that 2019 season, Díaz has looked like the pitcher that he was back in 2018 when he put together one of the best seasons any closer has had in recent memory. Especially this season (Statcast metrics shown above), where he has been one of the league’s top relievers.

The Mariners 

As mentioned above, Seattle received five pieces from New York in the trade. The headliners of the deal were two top-100 prospects in Kelenic and Dunn. Kelenic, at the time, was by far the crown jewel of the trade. The former first round pick was later touted by many as a top-10 prospect in baseball. However, Seattle has yet to see the type of player that thought they were getting.

Kelenic has struggled once again this season as he did last year. He only has 12 hits over 86 at-bats (.140 average) and has struck out 39 times compared to only nine walks. His OPS+ of only 55 paints an even further alarming picture.

Kelenic is slashing a career .173/.256/.338 and has only hit 17 home runs and driven in 53 runs. He has struggled dearly to put the ball in play as his strikeout rate is 30.0%. The former sixth overall pick has a total bWAR of -1.8 up to this point.

Now, Kelenic is only 22 years old. He has yet to tally a full season’s worth of at-bats. So, there certainly is time for him to turn it around and be the player he was once touted to be. However, a less than ideal start.

The other two younger players that were in the deal are both no longer with the Seattle organization.

Former top-100 prospect Justin Dunn has largely battled injuries and in total only started 25 games for the Mariners. Over his Seattle career he registered a FIP of 5.61 and an ERA of 3.94. Dunn was since traded in a package to the Cincinnati Reds for Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suárez where he remains on the 60-day injured list.

Meanwhile, Gerson Bautista is playing professional ball in Mexico. The former flame-thrower was out-righted back on October 23rd of 2020 by Seattle. He briefly appeared with the Mariners again in March 2021 before going overseas. Overall, his Seattle career spanned nine innings where he allowed 13 hits and 11 runs.

As for the two veterans, Jay Bruce was later traded by Seattle to Philadelphia along with cash considerations for third baseman Jake Scheiner. Scheiner is still with Seattle playing at the Double-A level.

Lastly, Anthony Swarzak pitched 13 2/3rd innings with Seattle in 2019 posting an ERA of 5.27. He is currently a free agent. The 36-year-old was traded in 2019 to Atlanta for Arodys Vizcaino and Jesse Biddle. Biddle had a 9.82 ERA with Seattle in 2019 before being claimed on waivers by Texas. He is now pitching in Japan. Vizcaino did not appear in a game for Seattle and finds himself at the Triple-A level with the Kansas City Royal organization.

Wrap-Up

When looking at the trade overall, of the seven players that were involved, really only one has made a pro-longed meaningful contribution, that being Edwin Díaz. Unfortunately for Seattle, although extremely early, Kelenic has yet to piece it all together. The bottom-line is the Mariners has yet to receive any major on-field production from the pieces involved and the Mets have.

Of course, there are other factors surrounding the deal. Examples being the dead money New York is now burdened with, as well as the return Dunn fetched for Seattle (Winker and Suárez). So, labeling a true winner in the trade is tricky, nor what this is all about. It was simply to check in on how each of the seven players involved in the deal have performed and examine where they currently find themselves.