MLB Trade Rumors: Dodgers Trade Joe Wieland to Mariners, Receive Erick Mejia
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Seattle Mariners have agreed to a trade involving pitcher Joe Wieland and infielder Erick Mejia. In sending Wieland to the Mariners, the Dodgers receive Mejia, a minor league middle infielder.
While there seems to be no reasonable cause for the trade, baseball pundits are looking at it as merely a preparation for the Dodgers in the imminent signing of Yaisel Sierra. In order to do that, they had to clear a spot in their 40-man roster.
Wieland, 25, was obtained by the Dodgers in a December 2014 trade involving the Padres. Before that trade, he underwent a Tommy John surgery in July 2012, and another surgery, this time on his elbow in 2014. He played his very first full season in roughly four years last year. He made two starts for the Dodgers wherein he allowed eight runs based on 10 hits, along with five walks and only four strikeouts. The team actually avoided salary arbitration last month by signing him to a one-year deal worth $590,000.
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He was drafted by Texas in the 2008 MLB Draft (fourth round) but was traded to San Diego in 2011. The Dodgers took him three years later in another trade.
The trade actually makes sense for the Dodgers, a team with an already formidable major league pitching rotation led by Clayton Kershaw, Scott Kazmir, and the likes of Kenta Maeda, Alex Wood, and Brett Anderson. The subs include Carlos Frias, Brandon Beachy, and Mike Bolsinger.
In acquiring Mejia, they have someone who is known for his speed as an infielder. He can play shortstop and second base, two positions he has gotten used to in Seattle. The 21-year-old Dominican stole 20 bases in 21 tries last season. He also stole a total of 33 bases on 36 tries in his 80-game stint in the minor league.
