Mariners Moose Tracks, 12/15/16: Holland to Chicago, Milone to Milwaukee

It’s Thursday! The week is almost over! We can do this. I can definitely do this, for I am on a snow day today. My day will be spent playing Overwatch and awaiting the (hopefully) inevitable trade for a starting pitcher.

In Mariner Land...

• Mariners prospect Jordan Cowan has been named an Australian Baseball League All-Star. Cowan has hit .277/.333/.431 over 65 at-bats for the Adelaide Bite:

• Rob Whalen, the Mariners’ newest right-handed pitcher, got a present from Triple H. Yes, that Triple H. No, I don’t know how they know each other:

• UTIL Richie Shaffer was claimed off of waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies. Shaffer, who was recently acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays, was booted off the 40-man when the Mariners brought over RHP Chris Heston. Cody Martin and Jonathan Aro live on.

In other news...

• LHP Derek Holland is heading to the Chicago White Sox on a 1-year, $6m deal. Holland was a potential buy-low option for the Mariners.
• LHP Tommy Milone and the Milwaukee Brewers struck a one-year deal, as well. Milone put up a 2.8 fWAR season in 2012 with the Oakland Athletics, but has struggled ever since.
• C Welington Castillo is now a Baltimore Oriole as the two sides have a 1-year, $6m deal in place.
• This article on the horrors Cuban players go through trying to defect includes a bit about Leonys Martin’s struggles and a mention of a new documentary on the subect.

Random picks of the day...

• New friend of Lookout Landing Conor Kelley has launched a new website full of wonderful information for developing catchers. Think of it as Driveline for catchers.
• There’s a new species of spiders that look like the Sorting Hat out of Harry Potter. As much as I love me some Harry Potter, I still consider a dead spider to be the best spider.
• Start your morning with some Jonathan Coulton: