Seattle Mariners Vice President of Baseball Operations Woody Woodward announced today that the club has traded third baseman Mike Blowers to the Los Angeles Dodgers for second baseman Miguel Cairo and third baseman Willis Otanez. In addition, right handed pitcher Bob Wells has been designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Cairo and Otanez.
"Mike had a tremendous season for us and we will miss him, but in return we recieve a pair of good prospects from the Dodgers' organization that should help us in the next couple of years." said Woodward. "We knew we would not be able to keep all of our veteran players and this deal gives us some flexibility to make additional moves on our Major League roster. As we have said before, our plan is to keep the Mariners ball club competitive year in and year out."
"Both Otanez and Cairo are excellent athletes and have a good chance to be everyday players for us down the road." said Roger Jongewaard, Mariners Vice President of Scouting and Player Development. "We project Otanez to be a quality third baseman with good power and a strong throwing arm. Cairo has very good speed and could bat in either of the first two spots in the lineup. He also is a good middle infielder."
Cairo, 21, spent the entire 1995 season with the Dodgers' double-A San Antonio club and batted .278 with one home run, 41 RBI and 33 stolen bases in 107 games. The second baseman was voted as the 10th best prospect in the California League by Baseball America in 1994 after batting .291 with 48 RBI and 44 steals in 133 games. A native of Venezuela, Cairo was originally signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1990 at the age of 16.
Otanez, 22, began the 1995 season with the Dodgers' single-A Vero Beach club where he batted .260 with 10 home runs and 53 RBI in 92 games. He was promoted to double-A San Antonio where he appeared in 27 games and hit .240 with one HR and seven RBI. A native of the Dominican Republis. Otanez was voted the infielder with the best arm in single-A baseball for three straight years by Baseball America. In 1994 with Vero Beach, he established a club record with 19 homers and drove in 72 runs. He was originally signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1990 at the age of 16.
Blowers, 30, batted .257 with 23 HRs and 96 RBI in 134 games for Seattle. The native of Tacoma, WA and former Washington Husky established career highs in hits (133), doubles (24), HRs and RBI. In the post-season, he batted .167 in the division series vs. New York and .222 with a HR in the League Championship Series vs Cleveland. Blowers was acquired by Seattle on May 17, 1991 from the New York Yankees in exchange for pitcher Jim Blueberg.
Wells, 29, appeared in 30 games (four starts) for Seattle this year, posting a 4-3 record with a 5.75 ERA. The native of Yakima, WA was acquired by Seattle on waivers from Philadelphia on June 30, 1994.
Seattle Mariners Official News Release. "Mariners Trade Mike Blowers to Los Angeles Dodgers for Two Top Prospects; Bob Wells Designated". 29 Nov., 1995.
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