Early Wednesday morning, a report surfaced that the Mariners had  acquired Chicago Cubs right fielder Justin Ruggiano. Jon Morosi was first to report the deal, sending Matt Brazis to Chicago. While the trade comes as a huge disappointment to the fans of Seattle who were hoping for a more exciting name, Justin Ruggiano makes sense for the team.

Many conflicting reports had come out Tuesday night regarding news that the M's were close to acquiring a hitter. This brought about much speculation. It was rumored that the Mariners were part of the Wil Meyers deal, that the bat they were acquiring was "A notch above Upton and a notch below Harper." M's fans were ecstatic about that idea, so when the news that the M's had a deal for Ruggiano, the anger came about without much reading into it.

As it turns out, Ruggiano is not a bad player. Ruggiano will likely be a platoon right fielder with a left handed bat, putting Ichiro and Seth Smith on the table for the M's. While fans are certainly deflated after the recent hype and giant let down, one must give Justin Ruggiano a chance. However, how much better is Justin Ruggiano than the player the Mariners traded to open up the right field position in the first place, Michael Saunders?

Ruggiano, 32, played in only 81 games in 2014, hitting 6 homeruns with a .281 batting average. Saunders, 28, hit .273, hitting 8 homeruns with a .273 average in just 78 games. Saunders hit more homeruns in less games, however he hit with a lower average. Saunders has more career homeruns in 6 years, the same amount of time Ruggiano has spent in the bigs. However, Ruggiano has played in less than 150 games. Ruggiano has had a WAR above 0.5 only one time in his career, (2012) while Saunders has owned a war over 1.0 three times in his career, where two of those seasons amounted to a WAR above 2.0. Saunders, however, has never had a defensive WAR above 0.5. Nor has Ruggiano. Saunders owns 50 career stolen bags while Ruggiano has just 34.

The player comparison leads us to believe that Michael Saunders is the better player, however Saunders also had left a bad taste in the mouths of Mariners' fans. By showing so much promise, Saunders was often a disappointment due to his injuries. As for the cost, Ruggiano is up for arbitration in 2015, along with Saunders and both will be costless agents after the 2016 season. Both players will likely make over 2 million dollars in 2015. Maybe the Mariners just needed to rid themselves of the Condor and find a new face in right field, but does Justin Ruggiano really fit what the Mariners are doing?

Ruggiano will likely hit at the bottom of the order, as the 2nd spot is occupied by Dustin Ackley. An outfield of Ackley, Jackson and Ruggiano is not a very good outfield. Against lefties, Ruggiano hit .305 with a .333 OBP and mashing 3 of his 6 homers off of a southpaw. Ruggiano will platoon in RF and will not be the Mariners everyday starter. He may platoon with James Jones and Stephan Romero. The M's primary goal is to have a right fielder serve as a place holder for Alex Jackson, however if the plan is to win now, (Which it seemingly is with signing of Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano, Felix Hernandez and Kyle Seager in their primes) then the signing of a platoon outfielder does not make much sense.

It is not unheard though, with the World Champion Giants platooning Michael Morse and Travis Ishikawa in left field in 2014, and the Oakland A's doing it at many positions throughout the past few years. Certainly, the trade for Justin Ruggiano is a bit of a let down amongst the M's fan base, reminding many of the Chris Denorfia trade in 2014. Ruggiano is not the bat that was rumored to be heading to the Emerald City, and it seems that there may not be another big name manning a new M's jersey in 2015.

Are the Mariners better off with Ruggiano than Saunders? The numbers say that Michael Saunders is the better outfielder and he clearly has much better potential. Whether Michael Saunders left a bad taste in the mouths of the team or not, it seems that the Mariners traded away their starting rightfielder of the future and then ended up with a temporary bat with limited potential. One way or another, the Mariners front office has left the fan base wondering, what else?