Mariners Trade Pineda/Campos To Yankees For Montero/Noesi

Word came through early this evening that the Yankees and Mariners are incredibly close to finalizing a deal that sends Michael Pineda and Jose Campos to the Yankees for Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi in return. It's not final, but it might as well be, so let's talk about it a little bit.

The reactions I've seen from Mariners fans has been so mixed it's nearly impossible to gauge the majority opinion. On one side we have fans enraged about the trade, saying you should never trade top pitching talent for top hitting talent or that Montero is too much of a risk.

On the other side we have fans fairly excited about the trade, citing that pitching is generally a higher risk than hitting and the Mariners traded a strength to fill a weakness. I fall on this side.

I think Dave Cameron hit it dead on with this quote from his article on the trade:

"In swapping Pineda for Montero, the team has decided to move strength for weakness. The organization has a lot of talent on the mound and not much talent at the plate, so the appeal of this kind of deal is fairly obvious... While he’s a talented guy, he’s not an irreplaceable talent, and the risks associated with building around young pitching are substantial and well chronicled."

If you haven't yet read that article I strongly encourage you to follow the link over there and give it a read.

Just last night I wrote this column to the Mariners basically begging them to bring in a bat. While the letter was largely asking them to bring in Prince Fielder, it opened and ended with these quotes:

"Please give me a reason to show up to games at Safeco Field this summer... You are not going to get away with doing nothing for a whole lot longer. Just show me some signs of trying, really trying, and I’ll be at Safeco Field in a heartbeat."

I think this was a good move for the Mariners and Yankees alike, both trading strengths to fill their own weaknesses. If both these players pan out like they're supposed to no fans should be left angry about the trade. When it comes down to it though there is much less risk on the Mariners side of this trade, being that they sent away pitching talent to acquire some top-shelf hitting talent.

I can understand why some fans are angry right now because Pineda is one hell of a talent and incredible fun to watch, but ultimately this was the right move for the Mariners at this point in time. With all the pitching talent the Mariners have in the minors we can absorb the loss of Pineda fairly easily soon down the road.

If Ichiro can pull it together and put together another successful 2012 we're looking at a lineup that can actually produce at maybe a league-average rate. Oh what a treat that would be.