The Mariners’ Rotation Surplus Has Opened the Door for a Trade
The Mariners once again have more starters than they know what do with. This year should be the year they finally cash in on one of them.
While the notion, by some, around Major League Baseball is that this is an offense-driven league, the need for pitching is always there. There is a reason that at each season’s deadline, the true contenders are always looking to add an arm to their stable. Especially if it can come as an addition to the starting rotation.
There are a handful of teams that have been labeled as “pitching factories,” seemingly because of just how quickly they can regenerate starting-caliber arms yearly. Though there may be a few teams out there, there is not a team in a better position this deadline than the Seattle Mariners.
The Mariners have the definition of a loaded rotation. Here we sit on July 29th, and Seattle is trotting out a six-man rotation that is comprised of four arms who could be heading a pitching staff on another team, a former Ace, and a true breakout arm who looks to be one of the better young up-and-coming pitchers in baseball. Not to mention the fact that, in the latest Top-100 Prospect Rankings update on Just Baseball, they also had two more starters crack that list, each in the top 10.
On any given day, you can flip a coin to decide who among Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, and George Kirby can take the ball in a win-or-go-home game in the postseason. Need someone to step in for bulk innings? Lucky for them, they have Luis Castillo, who could step right in. The young arm who broke out for them this year? That would be former first-round pick in 2020, Emerson Hancock, who, just recently, had his name surface in trade rumors for the Mariners to help with their offensive woes.
Why They Need To
As of now, the Mariners sit 2.5 games behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West. No, that is not bad considering there is still plenty of season left. Pan over to the AL wild-card standings, and they sit just 1.5 back of the final spot, currently held by the Cleveland Guardians.
As I said, plenty of season left, so you may ask why. Well, this is why.
As a pitching staff, the Mariners have held their opponents to 427 runs. The issue here is that they are the third-worst team in total runs scored on offense, with 436. Despite the numbers, they are still +9 in run differential, which is incredible.
Tying this back to my opening statement, the need for pitching is always at the forefront of team needs, but you need to score runs as well. That is clearly where the Mariners are lacking, and just where their surplus of high-level pitching is putting them in prime position to potentially acquire a high-profile bat at this year’s trade deadline.
Then there is always the need to stock up on healthy, capable arms to fill up the bullpen for a run.
Where Could They Look?
The Mariners were able to coast by in the absence of Julio Rodriguez. Thankfully for them, he is back from his stint on the injured list and is slotting back into the top of the order.
Everyone is aware of the elephant in the room for this ball club, and it is the 2025 MVP runner-up, Cal Raleigh. Entering today, Raleigh is slashing .166/.269/.310 with 11 home runs, an outrageous 32.5% strikeout rate, and a 71 wRC+. There is simply nothing nice about that, and it is a big reason why this lineup has struggled throughout this season.
A .690 team OPS is not going to get the job done, and it is clear that the Mariners front office is very aware of this. Randy Arozarena currently leads all qualified hitters with a .824 OPS, which is doing a lot of the heavy lifting. After Arozarena, J-Rod and Cole Young come in with sub .750 mark.
This then raises the question: where can they look to improve?
One glaring hole I see is the need for a right-handed bat, especially one who can slot into right field for them. Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone have been able to fill in admirably, and, to Canzone’s point, I don’t think he should be the one to lose playing time. The issue is, aside from them both being left-handed, is that Canzone just cannot play the outfield, locking him into the designated hitter spot most of the time.
Looking at the trade market, there are a few outfielders that would fit this lineup well, and if the Mariners truly are willing to dangle Hancock in a trade, they should be willing to get quite the return for the 27-year-old pitcher.
I don’t care how many times Byron Buxton is going to push back on the idea of being traded, but this would be such a good spot for him. Though the Twins are currently nipping at the heels of the Mariners in the wild-card standings, coming to terms with reality as to where their team currently stands needs to take precedence at this year’s deadline. There is surely a deal to be made here.
Now that Luis Robert Jr. is off the injured list, he too becomes an interesting option. His 31-game sample size this year doesn’t look great on the surface, but his career .871 OPS at T-Mobile Park would surely be welcomed by Mariners fans. A trade involving Robert in general looks more and more likely as we approach the deadline following the recent report that the Mets are “desperate” to move on from him. With the Mariners also looking to add some bullpen help, should the Mets decide to move on from Luke Weaver, which they should, packaging the two together makes a lot of sense.
Aside from Buxton, Taylor Ward is another option I wouldn’t mind the Mariners picking up the phone to call about. Due just $4 million through the rest of the season, the cost to acquire the right-handed hitting outfielder from Baltimore should not be too expensive. The former Angel was brought over in the offseason in a one-for-one swap involving Grayson Rodriguez and, unfortunately, just hasn’t helped get Baltimore over the hump. Especially in a tough AL East division.
A name I have yet to hear mentioned much in all the rumors that have surfaced is that of San Francisco Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos. Given that the 26-year-old has yet to reach arbitration, should Seattle be looking for someone who has team control past this season, Ramos becomes an interesting option.
If they are looking to go more bargain-bin shopping, Royals outfielder Lane Thomas and Padres infielder Ty France could provide them enough of what they’re looking for without having to dip into any significant talent in their farm system.
In terms of potential bullpen arms, aside from Weaver, could they decide to dip their toes into the Mason Miller waters and try swinging a deal for him? Then there’s Bryan Abreu, who, despite a brutal start to the year, has pitched more like himself since June 1st.
Will Hancock Be on the Move?
Although I mentioned these names above, aside from a potential Buxton deal, I am not saying Hancock is guaranteed to be the trade chip used to find the help they need. To be honest, the hitter pool in this trade market is quite bare. I wanted to use this article to highlight a few names who fit just what they could be looking to do.
While the premise of this article is to highlight how the Mariners can take advantage of their high-end pitching surplus to fill their offensive void, the underlying notion that they are incredibly deep in their pitching stable cannot be dismissed. Their two top pitching prospects, Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan, are knocking on the door to make their debut. So moving one of the current starters from their starting rotation likely wouldn’t come with much distress, should the return provide them the juice they’re looking for.
Luckily enough for the Mariners, per Tankathon, they currently have the 24th-highest strength of schedule to finish off the season. A push for the division is well within reach and likely the easier path to returning to the postseason after falling just short in the ALCS in 2025.
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Cristian has been at Just Baseball since 2021, when he first started writing about prospects. He spent eight years working in Major League Baseball with the…