The Mariners have acquired catcher John Jaso from the Rays in exchange for right-handed pitcher Josh Lueke and a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to a team press release.
“[Jaso] gives us a left-handed hitting catcher with some big league time who is still young,” Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said in the release. “His left-handed bat will be a nice compliment to our right-handed hitting group. He’s a tough kid with postseason experience and should be a nice fit with us.”
Last season marked Jaso's first full campaign in the Major Leagues and the 28-year-old hit .224/.298/.354 with five homers in 273 plate appearances. Jaso took over the Rays' catching job in 2010 as a rookie and hit .263/.378/.372 on the year.
Lueke, who turns 27 on December 5th, made 25 appearances for the Mariners last season and posted a 6.06 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. In 42 career Triple-A games, Lueke owns an ERA of 2.56 with 8.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.
The right-hander was part of the 2010 trade that sent Cliff Lee to the Rangers. After the trade, it was revealed that Lueke had trouble with the law in 2008 and the M's were not aware of this when they made the deal.
Isn’t this the dude who was charged with rape?
Yes! Anally!
By saying “anally” instead of “anal” you’ve made our judicial system sound rather extreme.
Well the legal system is nothing if not precise.
I suppose you could even call it thoroughly anal.
I guess the Rays like rapists???
Does Andrew Friedman know that Josh Lueke is a rapist?
In point of fact he’s actually an analrapist.
Tobias Fünke, analrapist.
checking in.
I’m sorry sir, it appears someone just blue/blew you.
One could say he’s a fan of the struggle snuggle.
Better than Olivo.
Thought Lueke could be something though.
Tampa Bay Ray..pists?
Is that a record for most likes on one comment?
I doubt it, ive seen 100+ a few times lol
Wow. That’s quite impressive. I think I’ve topped out at like 35~40 or so. Maybe not even that much.
Ya this is the most ive recieved by far , you gotta be quick Lol
Yea! If you make one of the first couple comments, you’re definitely going to get more likes than people that comment later..
I actually like Jaso, so I’m glad the Mariners picked him up and got rid of Lueke at the same time.
I like Jaso too and Shoppach as well. Well the Rays let go their entire bullpen at the end of the 2010 season. I guess they are going to do the same thing with their catchers.
Lueke could turn out to be a good reliever, but Rays catching depth is depleted. Probably a precursor to a Jose Molina signing.
Didnt Jose already sign somewhere?
no, his deal is pending with the Rays right now
No, but a couple weeks ago he was nearing a deal with the Rays.
Good riddance Jaso. Good luck in Seattle
Jaso’s self esteem really took a shot today. ‘Mom, I got traded for a rapist.’
Probably a low light of his career…
2011 was pretty low
Hey there’s still a PTBNL in the deal, so he was traded for a rapist AND a non-rapist.
i feel as if this comment has been underappreciated.
whether the PTBNL is or is not a rapist can neither be confirmed nor denied.
It doesn’t matter, cause Jack Z probably wouldn’t know anyway.
Jaso, a Mckinleyville, CA native went on to say, “but the good news is that I’ll be playing in Oakland 3 times a year.”
I guess they’re the Devil Rays again.
Why do the Rays want a raper? If you live in Tampa you need to be hidin your kids, and hidin your wife now, cause he be rapin everybody out there
The Rays wern’t looking at a rapist. They were looking at a pitcher projected with a 2.70 ERA with 9 K/9, 2.70 BB/9, 0.36 HR/9 and .311 BABIP (50 innings).
Oh that’s fine. I don’t really see a problem with them acquiring him as long as he’s past what he’s done. I just wanted to make that joke. (In case you didn’t know it’s a youtube video/song called the bed intruder song)
Yeah Seattle’s gonna get effed in the bum now from this deal. They keep digging themselves a hole lol trade Figgins already and bring back Griffey and A-Rod, it’s your only chance lol even Edgar Martinez is still better for the team lmao
There’s way too much laughing going on in that post.
Did you really just say “Seattle’s gonna get effed in the bum now from this deal.”?
Oh the irony.
The Reds have catching depth… could this be a precursor to a Shields trade?
I hope that was sarcasm
The Rays still have like 5 catchers after him so probably no.
Yes, but they’re all subpar.
Very surprised by this, but can’t say im disappointed. Jaso never really got his hitting groove going last year and his defense was sloppy. I’ll take Lueke. We could use the bullpen help and I hope he turns out like Brandon Gomes, a great young reliever.
Hide ya kids Hide ya wife
HEY I SAID THAT ALREADY
Wanna fide aboud it?!
Not too surprised about this. Jaso’s value to the Rays lay all in his bat, and that wasn’t enough apparently, and the Rays have been known to take on guys with off-field issues (Aybar, M. Ramirez, Guerreri, Dukes, Hamilton, Andrew Bellati) as long as they bring it on the playing field.
They dumped Hamilton. They dumped Dukes. The others did nothing like this.
Aybar beat his wife, thats pretty close in my book.
Wife-beating is terrible, but anal rape without protection of a drunk woman is almost certainly worse.
Who are you to decide that that is worse?
I think people with any sort of common sense would agree with him. Rape is probably the worst crime you can commit. The emotional trauma alone is enough for me to consider it worse.
Find the nearest woman and ask her. Or see which one is a felony.
they dumped them because of performance on the field. I’m sure Dukes’ behavior factored into his trade but hamilton wasnt performing on the field.
There was also no reason to see Hamilton as a character risk when they brought him into the organization.
Hamilton never had problems until long after he’d signed with the Rays, and in fact his massive signing bonus certainly helped him delve into his partying/drug use phase. But then again all Hamilton did was hurt himself physically and his friends and family emotionally, thats a lot different than rape.
What off-field issues did Manny ever have? Other than the Boston media typically turning on him once they decided he wasn’t a fit anymore and they needed someone to blame for them not winning the world series? Steroids? Who cares?
Dude I’m good with banging on the boston media (they’re evil to the core) but Manny was not exactly behaving like a gentlemen (he physically assulted the boston travel agent).
That’s what i’m saying….did he really even do that? I don’t believe a word the boston media says.
Are you serious?
didn’t they also sign julio lugo right after he got cut by the astros for smackin’ his ho’ around in public?
agreed, people need to lay off the legal trouble and focus on his baseball potential
It’s not about legal trouble. It’s about welcoming a terrible person into your organization.
Many teams have signed players that are “terrible people.” As long as he stays clean outside the stadium and gives his all inside the stadium I’ll be fine with him.
Considering that every single person in the Mariners organization who were associated with wanting Lueke in the Cliff Lee trade have been fired, and the Rangers were very underhanded in the first place in not letting the Mariners know about the situation, its very bizarre that Lueke even remains in pro baseball with this incident in his past. Rape is beyond awful and he did it and did time for it. He should never be allowed the privilege to make good money playing a game and being in a position where young people can look up to him. He’s a scumbag through and through and I honestly hope the Rays immediately release him and he is blacklisted from the game for life.
Jose Canseco and Barry Bonds were blacklisted for the non-crime of steroid use, but rape is the worst of the worst crimes and Lueke remains active, yet again MLB gets it wrong.
I agree what he did was sick but this whole website is about the baseball, not his past. Yes, he is scum for what he did and should never be regarded highly for his character ever. But dont blame MLB or the Rays for this, blame the justice system. He should have gotten serious jail time rather than the 40 something day jail sentence. The Rays are in the business of putting the best talent on the field and if they like lueke’s baseball talent I’m not going to flag them for that.
Its all the Rangers fault to begin with though. He should have never been involved in the deal and the Rangers should have released him then and there and he should be working as a telemarketer for the rest of his life.
And your point about the justice system, an athlete in Texas can most likely get away with anything, its up to MLB to step in and force teams to release him and never sign him again. Rays fans should actively boo him and throw things at him until the front office gets the point. I know I will be if I ever go see him play.
It was later reported that Jack Z. did know. Something about one of his assistants coming out to the media and basically saying “I told him.” But other than that, it really isn’t hard to find this stuff out. Scouts? Character reports? Background checks? How can you even begin to say it’s all the Ranger’s fault. Are you trolling?
Oh cool do you have a link for that? Or is this just a Rangers fan sticking up for his team by making up some story out of thin air? All the while ignoring the far more important real life scenario that went down. You are from Texas and even though there’s hundreds of links on google from every major media outlet that say that the Rangers knew and werent entirely honest about the situation, but that makes ME a troll, huh?
Get a life. Your team did something dishonest. It happens.
I am a Mariner fan who blames the Seattle front office for failing to conduct a simple public records check on the criminal case. The website for the Superior Court of Kern County, California, gives a summary that reflects Josh Lueke’s conviction for false imprisonment with violence.
The conviction alone, however, would not have squelched my interest in the player, but I would need much more information before making the decision to include him a trade.
I hope Josh Lueke finds a good home in Tampa Bay and never approaches anything that could be considered sexual misconduct.
You’re assuming Josh Lueke is guilty of rape. What if Lueke is innocent of rape?
To believe that, I’d have to ignore the facts we have.
The facts are that Josh Lueke pleaded “no contest” to false imprisonment with violence. The prosecution would not have agreed to the plea bargain if the prosecution had strong evidence of rape. Lueke had the choice of going to trial on a rape charge that carried a long prison term or pleading “no contest” to a felony charge that assured his immediate freedom after 42 days in jail.
Lueke initially denied sexual contact with the woman but later said they had consensual sexual contact. The woman contended the contact was nonconsensual.
Neither you nor I can say with any certainty that a rape did or did not take place. I suspect the evening was filled with misbehavior, some of it perhaps rising to the criminal level on Lueke’s part.
Lueke was never a fan favorite in Seattle, but he reportedly conducted himself appropriately.
Goddamnit. Stop it.
You’ve been lawyered!
It’s important to note that a “no contest” plea, while not technically a guilty plea, carries the exact same effect as a guilty plea.
Sort of like “what if O.J. is innocent of murdering two people?”…. check out the case facts.
“that is what ive been saying the whole time!” sincerely the confirmed semen sample removed from josh lueke’s rape victim.
That does not address the disputed issue of consent.
if by “disputed” you mean he pled no contest and served jail time then you are factually correct…
To be precise, Josh Lueke was held in jail for 42 days before securing his immediate release with a plea of “no contest” to the felony charge of false imprisonment with violence. Lueke’s alternative was risking a long prison term by going to trial on rape charges that alleged the victim was incapacitated. Apparently neither the prosecution, the victim nor Lueke wanted to assume the risks of that prospective trial.
so what you’re saying is he pled no contest and served jail time, right? what other point are you are trying to make? my primitive mind cant grasp these concepts.
Josh Lueke was not convicted of rape and admitted no criminal wrongdoing, although at sentencing Lueke apologized to the victim for the “hurt” he brought upon her.
Lueke waited in jail for 42 days before securing his immediate release with a plea of “no contest” to false imprisonment with violence, a conviction that does not require sex offender registration. The two rape charges were dismissed “in the furtherance of justice.” The judge sentenced Lueke to 62 days in jail with credit for the 42 days served and 20 days of good time.
Lueke is not a convicted rapist. Lueke is a felon as a result of his conviction on the charge of false imprisonment with violence. Lueke apparently has successfully completed the requirements of his probation.
Josh Lueke is not a convicted rapist.
Lueke is a felon as a result of his conviction on the charge of false imprisonment with violence, a conviction that does not require sex offender registration.
Has Jack Zduriencik been fired?
No, he’s not a scout or an advisor. Everyone who advised him to take him has been fired. The Rangers have in a way informally apologized in public, and I’m certain they definitely have in private. Its not really on him.
It’s always easier to fire the workers than the boss, especially when it’s the boss doing the firing trying to save himself and repair his image.
It was just a bad day all around when he made that deal. He agreed to a deal with the Yankees, then reneged, and in his Karma-will-bite-you-in-the-ass moment, he ended up with a rapist, a PR headache, and Justin Smoak, who has been a dud at first; meanwhile the agreed-upon-deal with the Yankees for Jesus Montero, Ivan Nova and David Adams was better at time, and way better now. Montero delivered more WAR this season in three weeks and at DH than Smoak did at first for the year.
The Yankees tried to include a player with a broken ankle in the deal, but the Seattle staff apparently caught the problem in its review of David Adams’ medical records.
Brian Cashman has acknowledged that Jack Zduriencik did not renege on the deal.
In the Cliff Lee trade, the Mariners landed righthander Blake Beavan, a now 22-year-old Doug Fister clone and former first-round draft pick who made his MLB debut last summer with six straight quality starts enroute to a 15-start WAR-BR of 1.3. The Mariners also obtained infielder Matt Lawson, who was later traded for lefthander Aaron Laffey, who was later waived and picked up by the Yankees (for whom Laffey posted a 3.38 ERA in 11 appearances).
Brian Cashman never said publically, at least all that forcefully, that Zduriencik reneged on the deal. He’s not going to drag one of his fellow GMs through the mud when they are going to have to deal with each other moving forward, but it is known and been reported and continues to be reported that there was and remains an issue with Cashman toward Zduriencik because of this deal/non-deal.
It was known by both sides that Adams ankle was broken; the Mariners concern was the degree of the break and how long it would take to recover. The Yankees thought he’d be back for the start of the 2011 season, while the Mariners thought it would take longer, and that his career might be even over. They were partially right (it did take longer) but his career wasn’t over. Adams didn’t get back to full health until the end of the season, but the Yankees just added him to the 40-man roster and he’s ready to go in 2012. Let’s put it this way. There was no way Adams was the real reason the deal fell through.
I’d rather have Montero, Nova and Adams, especially Montero who offers the potential of the big-time bat the Mariners needs. I thought that at the time and certainly nothing has changed. Even if Smoak played better, he would never be a big power bat. I think Zduriencik went for the package that could be on the field right away in 2010 (at least with Smoak), but I would have went for the better talent package, and that was the Yankees offer.
I’d much rather have Montero, Nova and Adams heading into 2012.
The reported Yankee offer for Cliff Lee was Jesus Montero, David Adams and Zach McAllister (not Ivan Nova).
Righthander Zach McAllister, who nearly matches righthander Blake Beavan’s 6-foot-7, 240-pound frame, posted a negative 0.6 WAR-BR last season while the younger Beavan was posting a nifty 1.3 WAR-BR in only 15 starts.
Nova or McAllister. I’m giving the Mariners enough credit to have taken Nova if the deal came down.
Not arguing with most of your post, but Bonds and Canseco were blacklisted for steroid use which cheats the game of baseball. In all honesty steroid use cheated the game worse than Pete Rose’s betting habits.
How is this quantified?
Life is infinitely more important than baseball. Who gives a F if “the game was cheated”? The rape of an innocent woman is more important than any aspect of baseball.
Like I said, I agree with most of your post. The only part I was disagreeing that what Bonds and Canseco getting blacklisted for a non-crime. Steroid use was and is cheating and they deserved what they got and more. Again, I repeat, I agree with you on most Of your post.
I don’t understand why you posted this. I say Lueke should be blacklisted for raping someone because players have been blacklisted for far less important things. You talk about the players that were blacklisted were cheating the game, which is pretty meaningless compared to the life ruined by rape. I don’t see the connection, sorry.
You stated it was a non-crime what Canseco and Bonds did. It was a crime. Whether or not it was a crime with jail time or not does not change the fact that bonds and Canseco did commit a crime against baseball. If I do remember right, you did bring those two up in the discussion. You called it a non-crime, and I disagree. Is the rape worse? Yes. But just because Luke did something worse doesn’t make what guys like Bonds and Canseco did not a crime.
How were the Rangers underhanded? Is Jack Z inable to use GOOGLE? It’s not like it was any kind of secret, it was just horrible vetting by the Mariners. That, in no way, shape, or form falls on the Rangers. That falls 100% on Seattle.
The whole thing is sketchy. FWIW here’s what’s one Lueke’s wikipedia page:
“After the July 9, 2010 trade which sent Lueke to the Seattle Mariners, team president Chuck Armstrong denied having any knowledge of Lueke’s criminal past and stated if he had any knowledge he would have stopped the deal with Texas. Team GM Jack Zduriencik said Texas stood by the completed deal after Armstrong instructed him to cancel the deal with Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels. During trade negotiations Zduriencik asked Daniels why Lueke only played four games in the 2009 season and Daniels told the Mariners GM that Lueke was arrested after an incident involving a woman and Lueke was later acquitted. Daniels later apologized to Zduriencik for the misuse of acquittal when describing the events, but the two sides disagree on much of the rest of the communications between the two teams. Daniels did say the Rangers understood Seattle to know more about Lueke’s situation than what was directly discussed between the two parties, and according to former Mariners pitching coach Rick Adair, the Mariners did know about Lueke’s criminal troubles prior to the trade and the details of the criminal charges were common knowledge.”
So it really could go either way.
This is what you did wrong >>> “wikipedia”
How about some news articles, eh?
Yet another example of the double standard between baseball and football?
What’s worse? Being a dog-killer or a rapist?
Leonard Little committed vehicular manslaughter while drunk, then was caught driving drunk again, and then still got to play in the NFL. The NFL is really amazing sometimes.
i respectfully disagree. if we sit here and only focus on the on-field stuff, than that seems like we, as fans and people, ignore it all and pretty much say its ok to do whatever you want as long as you can hit a baseball 430 feet. to a certain extent you are correct. people do deserve second chances in life. guys can learn from their mistakes. lueke can learn from his experiences…like its not a good thing to rape people. but it will be a sad day in baseball when someone says “hey! did you hear the yankees traded for (insert power hitter’s name here)!!” and dudes friend says “doesnt he beat his wife?” and the original dude says “yeah, but not as bad as he beats left handed pitching!”
[Insert same lame rape joke everyone is making]
Your ironic persona is replacement level at best.
Sorry, I’m missing the joke part.
From all I heard when we traded for Leuke in ’10 (Mariner fan here…) he didn’t “fully” rape, he jacked off on her while she was passed out drunk and he was wasted. Wrong? Yeah. But hardly an evil person. Since joining Seattle, he’s been a great person by all accounts I’ve heard, having learned his lesson.
uhh that’s still rape, and isn’t what he was convicted of in a court of law.
That is incorrect. They found his DNA with an anal swab.
The wanking was done while she was awake and yakking in the bathroom. The alleged “P” in the “A” was done while she was passed out on the couch. He pleaded down to false imprisonment in the end. But yeah.. the cops found his spunk in her bum. 2+2=?
nevermind
Nationals have interest in BJ Upton; Derek Norris and Jesus Flores, both catchers, are likely trade bait, especially since the latter has expressed discontent with backup role.
I love this move for the M’s. Get a guy the exact opposite of Olivo – extremely patient, doesn’t strikeout a lot and is cost controlled. Now just dump Olivo for someone and we’re cooking.
As for Lueke, good luck in Tampa, wasn’t working out here but still has decent potential as a reliever.
Have fun getting run on every play, Mariners fans…
Who in god’s name is going to catch for the Rays next year. Shoppach and Jaso are now both gone and Jose Molina is their likely replacement. He’s great for 40 games, but his knees will explode if forced to lug that body around the bases for any more than that. Am I missing something, do the Rays suddenly have some catching prospects on the cusp of coming up the majors?
It’s actually Jack Zduriencik’s fault. He should have taken the deal the Yankees offered of Montero and Ivan Nova. He’d be much better off right now.
Montero may or may not be great. He might end up like Mariano’s cousin Ruben in the long run I don’t know.
If he is a future superstar Catcher I could never figure out why the Yankees would give that up for a half season of Lee. I get it, that it would have been a “Win this year” move. But the Yankees usually don’t trade their best young talent especially something rare that they need going forwards.
They dealt Kennedy and Jackson to get Granderson, but that was not a half-year rental.
The Yankees always want to “Win this year” but they are about being dynastic not one year wonders. They don’t intentionally trade multiple years of success for maybe one very often if ever.
What they usually deal are overrated guys like Ricky Ledee back in 2000. And that got them David Justice back. In a year when they only won 87 games they needed that deal.
I was coming at it from the Mariners side. From the Yankees side it was a bit of a surprise, since giving up prospects, including one who was rated as one of the top three in the game, for what may have been three months of rental is never advised and something the Yankees don’t do. Yet in retrospect, I think Cashman assessed what was happening in the market and he changed gear.
Once Lee was in play, Cashman could no longer ensure that the Yankees could get him as a free agent in the off season since he didn’t even know who might acquire him. He knew Seattle wasn’t going to sign him, but he couldn’t be sure the acquiring team wouldn’t sign him. While the Rangers didn’t sign him, they put up a good fight and helped open the door for Lee’s return to Philly. So Cashman’s concern was right here. He also was afraid that the Yankees would then have to face Lee in some round of the playoffs, perhaps denying the Yankees a chance to return to the World Series. He turned out to be correct on that front, too. Lee on the Yankees, and it’s most likely the Yankees in the 2010 World Series, not the Rangers. Lee might have also helped the Yankees get to the 2011 World Series, if they would have resigned them. I think the odds would have been much higher Lee stayed with the Yankees if they acquire him in 2010. In other words, Lee would have inceased the Yankees chances last year and perhaps beyond.
I do think Cashman looked at the developing market and decided that it was worth moving Montero to avoid exactly what happened.
Hmmm. replies not nesting under the proper notes. Technology fail!
Am I the only one thinking that this is one trade the guys at MLBTR shouldn’t have posted?
In order to limit the more immature posters perhaps they should have disabled comments for this one. But not have done it altogether? They’re just doing what they’re suppose to.
That would be censorship.
I do believe the Reds match up with the Rays for Sheilds. And this could be a precursor move before a trade. Nice knowing ya Grandal.
The M’s all of a sudden had an excess of possible pen help and had some serious Catching issues. This may not be the answer but it didn’t cost too much. Jaso has a lot of upside.
When Bill Bavasi tried to fill the spot in the pre Kenji Johjima days that cost a lot. But even after signing Johjima he still dealt off Torrealba for nothing just to ice the cake.
I like cake.
Jaso does not solve the M’s catching needs because I’d pick Olivo’s .220 hitting with some pop over Jaso’s .220 hitting with no pop.
Lueke looked like he had a great arm, why would we let him go? Especially late in the year in his second stint. It’s not easy to take an ERA down from 18 to 6. He will be an all-star with Tampa next year…
I will gladly take the 2010 Jaso over the 2011 Olivo.
When I see Lueke, I also see a player who had a 2.55 ERA in July and a
3.55 ERA in August. I think the jitters are wearing off from his 17+ ERA
in his first mlb month.
As a Mariners fan I’ve heard a lot about the Lueke situation. Stop saying he’s a terrible person because it was never proven and he has obviously learned from whatever happened and is a better person because of it.
Exactly, she went home with him drunk. They were both drunk, and she happened to black out. She has no way of remembering what even happened, let alone if she agreed or not…
Exactly. And almost every comment on here is belittling Lueke, it’s ridiculous.
So if you rape someone & learn from it, it makes you a better person?
Oh. Sorry guy, I didn’t know you were there to witness him “rape” her. It seems that since you’re so confident in the fact that he did in fact rape her, maybe you should have been used in the trial as a witness?
Or maybe you could respond to what I actually said instead of what I didn’t say.
He copped to false imprisonment with violence, and they found his semen in an anal swab of her. “False imprisonment with violence” and “consensual unprotected anal” really don’t go together.
If they were so sure that she was raped and it wasn’t consensual then I highly doubt they would have agreed to the to the no contest to a lesser charge.
I think she ultimately refused to testify, which sadly isn’t terribly uncommon among sexual assault victims.
Funny…this trade made everybody into a legal expert and a moral demi-god.
your mom’s a demi-god
This is a good deal for the M’s. They needed a left handed platoon partner for Miguel Olivo at catcher. And given their surplus of needs this off season, a cost effective addition is the way to go. Big thumbs up for the M’s making this deal.
Has there been a “Jaso – Joy of M’s Desire” comment yet?
If not, I’m declarin’ it.