Seattle: The Seattle Mariners moved quickly to replace veteran Hisashi Iwakuma in their rotation by acquiring left-handed starting pitcher Wade Miley from the Boston Red Sox in a winter meeting trade announced on Monday in Nashville.
The Mariners, who lost free agent Iwakuma to the Los Angeles Dodgers, also received reliever Jonathan Aro from Boston in exchange for reliever Carson Smith and lefty starter Roenis Elias.
Miley, 29, was 11-11 with a 4.46 ERA in 32 starts in his first season with the Red Sox after four seasons in Arizona, where he was a 2012 National League All-Star and finished second in voting for the NL rookie of the year award.
“Wade is a proven major league starter who brings a level of stability to the middle of our rotation,” new Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said.
The Mariners gave up a big piece of their bullpen to upgrade their rotation, with Smith coming off a strong rookie season in which he posted a 2.31 ERA and 13 saves in 70 innings.
The 26-year-old Texan was a set-up man most of the season, but stepped in for a stint in the closer role after Fernando Rodney struggled.
Elias, 27, was 5-8 with a 4.14 ERA in 22 games (20 starts) last season after going 10-12 with a 3.85 ERA in 29 starts as a rookie in 2014. He would have been in the running to join Seattle’s rotation next season but was not assured of a spot.
Iwakuma agreed to a deal with the Dodgers on Sunday worth a reported $45 million (Dh165.5 million) for three years.
Last month, Dipoto added veteran reliever Joaquin Benoit by sending two minor leaguers to the San Diego Padres.
Dipoto has been very active in the trade mart, with this deal being his seventh deal in the past five weeks.
