It was only a matter of when and where for Brandon League, and he was finally sent off Monday night, going to the Dodgers for outfielder Leon Landry and right-hander Logan Bawcom.
League saved 37 games in 42 chances for the Mariners last season, but he lost his closer gig in May and was never given a chance to win it back. Despite his early struggles, he had his ERA down to 2.91 as of Friday. From there, with the trade rumors swirling, he gave up four runs in his final two appearances for the Mariners, taking him up to 3.63.
Able to get both grounders and strikeouts in bunches, League has always seemed like something of an underachiever, even though he appears on his way to a third straight strong season. The Dodgers will use him in the seventh and eighth innings in front of closer Kenley Jansen.
In return, the Mariners pick up a couple of semi-promising youngsters. Landry, 22, was hitting .328/.358/.559 with eight homers and 20 steals for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. The base on balls isn’t a part of his game, but also doesn’t strike out very much (52/14 K/BB in 345 AB) and he’s an excellent athlete. Double-A next year will determine whether he should be looked at as a future regular.
Bawcom, 23, had a 2.03 ERA and a 60/22 K/BB ratio in 48 2/3 innings out of the pen between Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Chattanooga this year. He’s a fastball-slider pitcher with a chance of being useful in the sixth and seventh innings.