Baseball notes: Mariners acquire slugger Yonder Alonso from A’s

The Seattle Mariners acquired All-Star first baseman Yonder Alonso from the Oakland Athletics on Sunday for minor league outfielder Boog Powell.

The Mariners, who have not been in postseason play since 2001, entered a Sunday doubleheader at Kansas City, trailing the Royals by 1 1/2 games for the second wild-card spot.

Alonso, 30, is hitting .266 with 17 doubles, 22 home runs and 49 RBIs. He ranks second among American League first baseman with a .527 slugging percentage.

“I feel like it’s a compliment he brings to our lineup, particularly the left-handed bat and how he pairs with Valencia, which they’ve done before,” Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said. “It’s a balance he brings to our lineup, especially looking ahead, we’ve got quite a stretch of right-handed starters that we are seeing over the next three weeks.

“This is something we discussed for a length of time heading into the July 31 deadline. We felt like we were at the goal line to get a deal done. And through the August trade period, we were able to complete it.”

Alfonso is eligible for free agency after this season.

Alonso, a left-handed hitter, could platoon at first base with Danny Valencia. Alonso has 18 home runs, 40 RBIs and a .948 OPS against right-handed pitching this year.

Powell hit .194 in 23 games with three stints with Seattle this year. He has spent most of the season with Triple-A Tacoma, hitting .340 in 58 games. In another trade, the Mariners acquired right-handed pitcher Ryan Garton and catcher Mike Marjama from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Double-A pitcher Anthony Misiewicz, low-A infielder Luis Rengifo and a player to be named later.

Etc.

The Kansas City Royals have put All-Star catcher Salvador Perez on the 10-day disabled list because of a strain on the right side of his chest. Perez was injured on a swing in the sixth inning Friday. The five-time All-Star is hitting .278 with 21 home runs and 65 RBIs. Manager Ned Yost says the worst-case scenario is Perez being sidelined for four weeks but he is hopeful it will be in the 10-to-14 days range. Drew Butera, who entered Sunday hitting .250 with two home runs and nine RBIs in 92 at-bats, will do the majority of the catching in Perez’s absence. The Royals recalled catcher Cameron Gallagher from triple-A Omaha, where he was hitting .294 with five home runs. Gallagher was a 2011 second-round pick and will be making his major league debut. …

The New York Yankees have placed slumping slugger Matt Holliday on the disabled list with a lower back issue. The move with the designated hitter was expected after Holliday tweaked his back while swinging on Friday night. He didn’t play in Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Cleveland Indians so he could get more treatment and be evaluated by the club’s medical staff. Holliday is batting just .136 (11 of 81) with one homer and four RBIs since July 14. Before Saturday, he had just four hits in his past 23 at-bats. …

Jason Kipnis is back at the top of Cleveland’s lineup. The second baseman was activated from the disabled list on Sunday after being sidelined since before the All-Star break with a strained right hamstring. The former All-Star is leading off in the series finale against the New York Yankees. Kipnis got hurt while running the bases on July 8 against Detroit. He’s batting .232 with eight homers and 26 RBIs in 66 games. To make room for Kipnis, the club optioned infielder Erik Gonzalez to triple-A Columbus.

UPDATES:

1:30 p.m.: This article has been updated with news of the Mariners-Athletics trade.

This article was originally published at 10:30 a.m.