After dealing Taijuan Walker to the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier in the offseason, the Seattle Mariners found themselves in need of a starting pitcher. Wednesday evening, they got their guy. As first reported by Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Mariners will receive Chris Heston from the San Francisco Giants. In return, the Giants will get a player to be named later from the Mariners.
Source: Chris Heston has been traded to #Mariners.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 7, 2016
Giants Trade Chris Heston to Mariners
After the Giants signed closer Mark Melancon, they needed to free up a roster spot for him. It was rumored that Heston would be the odd man out. The 28-year-old righty was sort of a late bloomer; he made his major league debut for the Giants in 2014, and appeared in just three games (one start) that season.
In 2015, he broke out. Heston pitched 177.2 innings across 31 starts, and worked his way to 12 wins. His stats, while nothing special, were not bad, either. He posted a 3.95 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and 141 strikeouts against 64 walks. The highlight of the season came on June 10, when, as a 27-year-old rookie, Heston twirled a no-hitter against the New York Mets. In just his 13th career start, Heston struck out 11 and would have had a perfect game if not for the three batters he hit. It looked as if Heston could stick with the Giants as their fourth or fifth starter.
Last season, however, he regressed severely. Heston tossed just five innings in the majors and allowed six runs. He spent the rest of the season either struggling in the minors or dealing with injuries. However, he clearly has some potential. More importantly, he comes cheaply for the Mariners, and has only two years of service time and an option remaining, making him controllable. Seattle may still look to add another starter, but Heston looks good for depth at the very least.
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