The Seattle Mariners dealt outfielder Kyle Lewis to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday in exchange for catcher/outfielder Cooper Hummel.

Lewis, 27, was the American League Rookie of the Year for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when he batted .262 and hit 11 home runs and 28 RBIs in 58 games.

In the two seasons since then, he’s appeared in 54 games due to injuries and ineffectiveness. He batted .143 (8-for-56) across 18 appearances last season. The 11th overall pick by the Mariners in the 2020 draft, Lewis is a career .244 hitter with 25 home runs and 57 RBIs in 130 games.

Hummel, who turns 28 on Nov. 28, played 66 games for Arizona as a rookie in 2022. He batted .176 with three home runs, three triples and 17 RBIs. He caught parts of 18 games (14 starts) and also played left field, right field and designated hitter.

–Field Level Media

Aaron Judge was named American League Most Valuable Player on Thursday night, capping a historic season during which he broke the league’s single-season home run record.

Judge received 28 first-place votes from the panel of 30 Baseball Writers’ Association of America voters, with the other two going to Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels. Judge finished with 410 total points in voting, Ohtani had 280 and Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros was third with 232.

Judge, 30, hit his 62nd homer on the second-to-last night of the regular season to surpass Roger Maris’ long-standing AL mark of 61.

In his seventh season with the New York Yankees, Judge also led the major leagues in RBIs (131), runs (133), on-base percentage (.425) and slugging percentage (.686). He led the AL with 111 walks and ranked second with a .311 batting average. In the field, he did not commit an error.

“It’s tough to put to words,” Judge said on MLB Network. “It’s an incredible, incredible moment. A lot of hard work throughout the years to get to this point. I got a lot of people to thank. I go all the way back to coaches in travel ball, to Little League, high school, college, guys I’ve worked with through the minor leagues, major league. I always feel like any award you get, it’s never an individual award. It’s a team effort through and through.”

Judge has since hit free agency and is expected to command a massive contract, whether from the Yankees or another club.

Judge was second in MVP voting in 2017 and fourth last year. Now he’s become the first Yankee since Alex Rodriguez (2005, 2007) to win the award.

He said he only had a chance to reflect on his season after New York’s season had ended.

“I was trying to grind the year out all year,” Judge said. “I was focused on trying to win games for the Yankees and do whatever I can for that game, tonight. Win and wake up and do the same thing the next day. So it was tough to really enjoy it because of the ups and downs throughout the year. You’re chasing the division, you’re chasing a good spot in the postseason.”

The Yankees won the AL East at 99-63 with Judge carrying their offense through the second half of the season. They reached the ALCS, where they were swept by the Houston Astros in four games.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone released prepared statements congratulating Judge on the award.

“He was incredible in every facet of the game in 2022 and put up a season that ranks with the very best of all time,” Cashman said. “Aaron’s success was especially meaningful for our organization as we’ve been able to watch him grow throughout his professional career into the player and leader he has become — an offensive force in the batter’s box, a run preventer wherever we’ve put him in the field and someone who sets the tone in the clubhouse with his relentless commitment to winning. He has been our MVP for quite some time now, and this honor couldn’t be more deserved.”

New York has had 23 MVP winners all-time, with the list also including Babe Ruth (1923), Lou Gehrig (1927, 1936), Joe DiMaggio (1939, 1941, 1947), Joe Gordon (1942), Spud Chandler (1943), Phil Rizzuto (1950), Yogi Berra (1954, 1955), Mickey Mantle (1956, 1957, 1962), Maris (1960, 1961), Elston Howard (1963), Thurman Munson (1976) and Don Mattingly (1985).

Ohtani, the defending AL MVP, was in the conversation to repeat despite Judge making history. The two-way star went 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts and garnered him fourth place in Cy Young Award voting. He added 34 home runs and 95 RBIs with a .273 batting average and a .519 slugging percentage.

–Field Level Media

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt won the National League MVP award for the first time in his career, it was announced Thursday on the MLB Network.

Goldschmidt received 22 first-place votes and 380 points in balloting by 30 Baseball Writers Association of America voters. San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (291) received seven first-place votes and was second and the Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado (232) was third and received the other first-place vote.

“It’s a great honor. It isn’t just about me,” Goldschmidt said on the MLB Network. “it’s about the teammates that I have and the coaches and guys I played with in the past. I’ve learned a lot from a lot of different players and I think it means a lot to all of those people and I hope they know the effect they’ve had on my career.”

Goldschmidt has been MVP runner-up twice before (2013, 2015) and third another time (2017) during his eight seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks. But his fourth season with the Cardinals was the breakthrough campaign.

Goldschmidt, 35, led the National League in slugging (.578) and batted .317 with 35 homers, 115 RBIs and 106 runs.

The seven-time All-Star topped 30 homers for the seventh time in his career and the century mark for the fourth time.

“I want to find a way to still be a good or great player and find way to perform,” Goldschmidt said of moving toward the twilight of his career. “And try to win. Just find ways to get better as I get older.”

Goldschmidt’s achievement gives St. Louis an NL-most 18 MVP winners.

The other Cardinals to be named MVP include three-time winners Stan Musial (1943, 1946, 1948) and Albert Pujols (2005, 2008-09).

Winning once were Frankie Frisch (1931), Dizzy Dean (1934), Joe Medwick (1937), Mort Cooper (1942), Marty Marion (1944), Ken Boyer (1964), Orlando Cepeda (1967), Bob Gibson (1968), Joe Torre (1971), Keith Hernandez (1979, co-winner with Willie Stargell) and Willie McGee (1985).

Machado, 30, batted .298 with 32 homers and 102 RBIs while helping the Padres reach the NL Championship Series. He was the leader for San Diego after the club didn’t have star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. for the entire season.

The six-time All-Star recorded his sixth 30-homer campaign and topped 100 RBIs for the third time.

Arenado, 31, batted .293 with 30 homers and 103 RBIs and also won his 10th consecutive Gold Glove award.

The seven-time All-Star topped 30 homers and 100 RBIs in the same season for the seventh time.

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (220) placed fourth and teammate Mookie Betts (154) was fifth.

–Field Level Media

The Miami Marlins named “Mr. Marlin” Jeff Conine to the post of special assistant to the owner on Thursday.

Conine, 56, will work closely with Marlins owner Bruce Sherman “on a variety of projects, initiatives and key matters pertaining to the Marlins’ operations,” the team said in a press release.

“Jeff is an icon of the Marlins organization, and we are excited to bring him back ‘home,'” Sherman said. “His perspective and knowledge of the history of the Marlins franchise and the South Florida community will be invaluable.”

Conine spent eight of his 17 years in baseball with the then-Florida Marlins, from 1993-97 and then again from 2003-05. He won two World Series with the Marlins, in 1997 and 2003.

A career .285 hitter, Conine batted .290 with 120 home runs and 553 RBIs in 1,014 career games as a Marlin.

–Field Level Media