Seattle Mariners Reportedly Making Trade Stance Clear
· Yahoo Sports
The Seattle Mariners enter play on Sunday at 47-49, on a five-game losing streak, and now 1.5-games back of the Texas Rangers in the American League West.
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While Mariners' executives focus on finishing up the MLB Draft on Sunday, the fans are largely ready for the All-Star break, which is coming at a great time for a frustrated fanbase that has high expectations.
However, once the draft ends, M's leaders can get to work on the trade market, where Seattle has a chance to make some additions that could help stabilize a tenuous situation.
And according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the M's are making their position in the trade market clear.
The Seattle Mariners are letting teams know that they are willing to trade one of their prized starters for a back-end reliever and right-handed hitter, most likely Luis Castillo. They not only have a surplus of starters at the big-league level with a six-man rotation, but they have the finest pitching prospect in baseball with Kade Anderson.
We've talked about this before, but let's re-hash a handful of things.
Trading a starter isn't as bad as you're worried it isFirst off, the Mariners have a six-man rotation as it is, which is untenable. They need to clear the logjam, either via a trade or sending a starter to the bullpen.
Furthermore, if they make a move, and a leftover rotation member gets injured, then Anderson is there to fill the gap.
And, assuming baseball is played in 2027, the Mariners will have as many as nine starting pitchers that need innings: Castillo, Anderson, Ryan Sloan, Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, George Kirby, Emerson Hancock and Logan Evans, who is working back from Tommy John surgery.
That is also untenable.
Seattle Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert (36) delivers a pitch during the fourth inning against Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Pablo Robles-Imagn ImagesThe deal with CastilloBecause of his age (33), performance, and money owed (nearly $25 million next season with a vesting option for 2028), Castillo is clearly the guy that the Mariners would want to move most.
However, he's also clearly the guy that teams would want to acquire least for all of those reasons.
So, if the Mariners trade him, they aren't going to get everything they want. If a team takes on all of the money owed to Castillo, the M's won't get the players they covet.
If they get the players they covet, they'll have to eat most of the money (or all) just for Castillo to not pitch for them. That's a tough sell.
What about someone else?Well, Gilbert is only under contract through 2027. If the M's aren't going to give him a long-term deal, then there's certainly a case to be made for moving him, as unpopular as it would be.
That case gets even stronger if they are truly worried about baseball's schedule being impacted in 2027.
If the M's really do plan on investing in Gilbert, could they move Kirby, who is under contract through 2028? Again, it would be unpopular, but they can't keep everyone, and Anderson and Sloan are both on the way.
We talked about this on the most recent 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast with ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney.
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