By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Carlos Ruiz will one day be enshrined into the Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame, but less than a week after being traded to the Seattle Mariners, the long-time Phillies back-stop is excited to play with two potential Hall of Famers in Felix Hernandez and Robinson Cano:
"I've been lucky to watch Felix [Hernandez] pitch," he said. "We can do a lot of good things together with him and [Robinson] Cano and [Nelson] Cruz and [Kyle] Seager. I enjoy watching them play." [Source: MLB.com]
Ruiz, who will be 38 in January, will be joining a Mariners team that won 86 games in 2016, which allowed them to stay in the American League Wild Card race until the final weekend of the season. Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto says that Ruiz should help the team as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2001:
“First and foremost, Carlos brings us a veteran presence with outstanding leadership qualities and a winning pedigree,” Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said in a press release Monday. “His combination of strong on-base skills, situational awareness and game-calling ability are a welcome addition to the Mariners.”
The Mariners acquired Ruiz from the Los Angeles Dodgers for reliever Vidal Nuno Sunday, picking up his $4.5 million option for 2017 and adding additional incentives into his contract.
Ruiz had a bounce-back season in 2016, hitting .264 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 62 games, just a year after hitting .211. He also played in the postseason for the first time since 2011, batting .273 with one home run and four RBIs in 11 at-bats before the Dodgers were eliminated by the eventual World Series champion Chicago Cubs in the NLCS.
