CINCINNATI – Martin County West graduate Brandon Williamson was the centerpiece of a trade that has the 2019 second-round pick joining the Cincinnati Reds organization.
Williamson, Jake Fraley and Justin Dunn were traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Reds on Monday in exchange for Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez.
Williamson was rated as the No. 5 prospect in the Mariners' farm system by Baseball America and No. 82 overall in the Top-100 rankings. Williamson had a 3.39 earned run average in 19 starts at High-A and Double-A last year.
"We’re really excited to get Brandon Williamson who is a potential starter in Triple-A and will compete for a spot in spring training this year," Reds General Manager Nick Krall told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "We really think Brandon Williamson is going to be on this club."
To make the deal the Mariners had to do something they didn’t want to do: trade Willimson.
“To be truthful, we were hesitant to give up Brandon Williamson,” president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto admitted to The Athletic.
Some in the Seattle organization felt Williamson could have reached the big leagues at some point this season.
Cincinnati’s Double-A team is the Chattanooga Lookouts, while the Triple-A affiliate is the Louisville Bats.