Former Rookie of the Year winner Kyle Lewis dealt to Arizona
The Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners have agreed on a trade that will send outfielder Kyle Lewis to Arizona in exchange for outfielder/catcher Cooper Hummel. The news was first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN. The trade will be a straight one-for-one exchange.
Kyle Lewis, the former 2020 Rookie of the Year winner, has been a major disappointment for the Mariners. In the shortened 2020 season, Lewis hit 11 home runs in 58 games with a slash line of .262/.364/.437. Throughout the last two seasons, Lewis has fallen down the depth chart for Seattle. Lewis was made expendable with a slew of injuries and a disappointing past two seasons, especially with the recent trade Seattle made for former All-Star outfielder Teoscar Hernandez.
Cooper Hummel made his major league debut for Arizona this past season by appearing in 66 games. In those games, Hummel struggled mightily hitting three home runs on a .176/.274/.307 slash line. Hummel saw time as a catcher, outfielder, and DH for the Diamondbacks this year.
With Hernandez now joining Seattle, Lewis was the odd man out in the outfield for the future. With Teocsar, this year’s Rookie of the Year winner Julio Rodriguez, Jesse Winker, and Jarred Kelenic all in play for Seattle next year, Arizona chose to take a chance on Lewis. However, Lewis will still face plenty of competition for playing time as well next year in Arizona. Alek Thomas, Daulton Varsho, Corbin Carroll, and Jake McCarthy will be the main outfielders next year. However, Arizona DFA’d Stone Garrett earlier this offseason, making Lewis the only right-handed hitter out of the outfield bunch for the D-Backs next year.
With Kyle Lewis now being traded, it’ll be interesting to see if the former Rookie of the Year winner can turn his career around in Arizona. If he can stay healthy and produce, he will see at-bats against lefties this upcoming season for the Diamondbacks.
