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Mariners land lefty Pazos from Yankees

Gregory J. Fisher / USA TODAY Sports

Barely an hour after landing Richie Shaffer and Taylor Motter from Tampa Bay in a five-player trade, the Seattle Mariners pulled off another move, acquiring left-hander James Pazos from the New York Yankees in exchange for minor-league right-hander Zack Littell.

Pazos, a 13th-round pick in the 2012 draft, managed a 5.40 ERA and 1.68 WHIP in 18 relief appearances with the Yankees since making his MLB debut last September. The 25-year-old spent most of the 2016 campaign with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, though, crafting a 2.63 ERA while notching 41 strikeouts and allowing just one home run in 27 1/3 innings with the International League affiliate.

"We're excited to add James to the Mariners," Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. "He brings us a left-handed power arm in the bullpen that we've been looking for with a mid-to-upper 90s fastball and a swing-and-miss curveball."

Littell, meanwhile, is the latest addition to a increasingly impressive Yankees farm system that's undergone a huge talent infusion in the past five months or so. Selected by the Mariners in the 11th round of the 2013 draft, Littell, 21, cruised through the low minors this past season, fashioning a 2.66 ERA with a 4.59 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 27 starts and one relief appearance between Low-A Clinton and High-A Bakersfield.

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