“Are you [expletive] kidding me?” one player said in response to the Mariners—who trail Oakland by a game for the AL’s second Wild Card spot—trading closer Kendall Graveman to the Astros Tuesday. “How do you trade him and say you care about winning? And you trade him to Houston? It never changes.”
The Mariners, who saw their four-game winning streak come to an end Tuesday night (they lost to the Astros, ironically enough), have been one of the sport’s biggest surprises this year, holding their own in a loaded American League West. Graveman had been a major part of their success, converting 10-of-12 save opportunities while contributing a dominant 0.82 ERA. Needless to say, players were incensed the Mariners, owners of MLB’s longest postseason drought (they haven’t reached October since 2001), would trade their top reliever to a hated division rival in the middle of a pennant race.
“An hour ago, it was great,” said another anonymous player, describing the clubhouse climate prior to Tuesday’s trade. “It was probably better than it’s ever been. And now, it’s the worst.”
Several players said they felt “betrayed” by GM Jerry Dipoto, who is known for his prolific wheeling and dealing, particularly around the deadline. “[Dipoto] hasn’t come down here,” a player relayed to beat writer Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. “He sits up in his suite, playing fantasy baseball and rips apart our team without telling us anything.”
Divish added that equipment was smashed while one particularly aggrieved player went “absolutely mad” upon hearing Graveman would be switching dugouts. Graveman was also taken aback by Tuesday’s events.
“I didn’t see it coming,” admitted the right-hander, holding back tears. “The way I felt, we were nine games over .500 and playing some pretty good ball when I was there, so it kind of takes away from the last five days, honestly. We’ll see if they bounce back from it.”
As Dipoto had alluded to, the Mariners made another swap Tuesday night, acquiring Pirates lefty Tyler Anderson for prospects Carter Bins and Joaquin Tejada. That concluded a whirlwind day for Anderson, who looked like he was headed to the Phillies until that deal fell through due to medical concerns with one of the players Philadelphia had offered.
“It’s definitely a concern,” Dipoto acknowledged when asked if the Graveman trade would have any impact on team morale. “Hopefully the next moves will make a little bit more sense to the guys.”
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