Around the Beat: Tacoma’s Bob Dutton discusses Seth Smith’s game and the Mariners’ hopes for Yovani Gallardo

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So, who exactly is outfielder Seth Smith?

What can the Orioles expect from Smith — at the plate and in the field?

What did the Seattle Mariners see in veteran starter Yovani Gallardo?

What are their expectations for Gallardo in 2017?

Why do the Orioles and Mariners swap players every few months?

Do Seattle fans cringe every time they see their club deal with Dan Duquette after the Mark Trumbo trade in December 2015?

When I need answers about all things Seattle, I go to Bob Dutton, an outstanding, longtime baseball writer who covers the Mariners for The News Tribune in Tacoma.

Bob’s a busy guy – or at least he says he is – so I’m glad I could get a few minutes with him shortly after Friday’s trade of Smith for Gallardo.

If you want to know more about Smith or more about this deal in general, make sure you listen to this “Around the Beat” podcast. We try to cover all of the bases (and, no, I don’t make any more of those lame baseball puns within the podcast. I promise).

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Dan Connolly

Dan Connolly has spent more than two decades as a print journalist in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Baltimore native and Calvert Hall graduate first covered the Orioles as a beat writer for the York (Pennsylvania) Daily Record in 2001 before becoming The Baltimore Sun’s national baseball writer/Orioles reporter in 2005. He has won multiple state and national writing awards, including several from the Associated Press Sports Editors. In 2013 he was named Maryland Co-Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. And in 2015, he authored his first book, "100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die." He lives in York, with his wife, Karen, and three children, Alex, Annie, and Grace.