Mariners Found Hidden Gem In Trade For 3-Year Red Sox Farmhand

Will Seattle use this righty out of the bullpen in 2026?

May 27, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; A Boston Red Sox hat and glove sit in the dug out before a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Tuesday was an important day around Major League Baseball, and the Seattle Mariners made an interesting swap on their pitching staff.

Eligible prospects had to be placed on their teams' 40-man rosters by Tuesday afternoon to be safe from the Rule 5 Draft, which takes place during next month's winter meetings. The Mariners evidently liked one of the Boston Red Sox farmhands who would have been eligible.

On Tuesday, the Mariners announced they had acquired right-handed pitcher Alex Hoppe from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for catcher Luke Heyman, Seattle's 14th-round pick in this past year's draft. In a corresponding move, left-handed reliever Tayler Saucedo was designated for assignment.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Why Hoppe is worthwhile risk for Mariners

The trade was a bit of a risk for the Mariners for a couple of reasons. One, Hoppe's inclusion on the 40-man roster necessitated the loss of a pitcher with two above-average seasons under his belt, even if this past year was an injury-plagued disaster. Two, Hoppe has been all sorts of inconsistent during his three minor-league seasons.

Teams don't trade for prospects based on their stats anymore, though. So although Hoppe owns a 4.76 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in 176 minor-league innings, the Mariners have reason to believe that they found themselves a hidden gem.

Not only does Hoppe have 203 strikeouts in those minor-league innings, but his arsenal looks pretty filthy from a birds-eye view. He throws a four-seamer, cutter, changeup, and slider, topping out at 98 mph with the fastball and generating nasty vertical movement on the slider.

If Hoppe doesn't work out, it's not likely the Mariners will miss Heyman, considering they have Most Valuable Player runner-up Cal Raleigh behind the plate with top prospect Harry Ford readying for his rookie season as Raleigh's backup.

At best, the Mariners just jumped the line in the Rule 5 Draft to grab themselves a big-league reliever, and at worst, they took a chance, which is something every team has to be daring enough to do from time to time.

More MLB: Mariners Faced Unexpected Josh Naylor Challenge From Low-Budget NL Team