Teoscar Hernandez trade grades: Who won the Blue Jays and Mariners deal?

FIRE UP THE HOT STOVE! WE’VE GOT A BIG TRADE!

The MLB offseason before the 2023 season truly kicked off with a deal that broke on Wednesday morning: Slugger Teoscar Hernandez, who broke out in a huge way in an All-Star season in 2021 and who knocked in 77 runs in 2022, is on his way to the Seattle Mariners, bolstering a lineup that also broke out in a huge way last year.

So who won this deal? As usual, we’re grading the big trades of the MLB offseason, so let’s break it all down with grades for both teams after reports of the swap broke:

Per USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale:

The Mariners get: RF Teoscar Hernandez

The Blue Jays get: RHP Erik Swanson, minor-league LHP Adam Macko

The Mariners proved last year that they’re ready to compete with the power-packed American League, making the postseason for the first time since 2002.

So it makes sense to push forward with a trade that a contender would make: Bolstering the lineup behind Julio Rodriguez with a power bat. That power bat happens to have a deal that expires after 2023, but when you’re a franchise like the Mariners’, a fairly low-risk, high-reward trade is the right call, especially after the Luis Castillo trade around last season’s deadline.

The Mariners’ bullpen is full of solid arms, so losing Swanson wasn’t the worst. And Macko wasn’t Seattle’s top prospect.

GRADE: A-

Toronto needs bullpen help. Swanson is a good answer, and the Blue Jays, as we know, have power hitters to spare, and getting return for a player who would get a well-deserved big raise next year is a good call.

This is good to hear about Macko:

A pretty good deal here for them, although I wonder if they could have gotten more? I guess after a down year that followed a breakout, probably not.

GRADE: B