A Deadline Miracle on First Avenue South

 

Perry Hill (left) lectures Catie Griggs (center) and Jerry Dipoto (right, and falling asleep) over infield techniques & strategy, insisting both participate in team drills. Catie resigned three days later citing violations of child labor laws and vowing lawsuits.

By Stevil, 2 July, 2024

Christmas is coming to Seattle--in July! Well, that's the hope, anyway. We'll propose a couple of cunning swaps and a few more humble exchanges, that could give the Mariners a fightin' chance at a miracle, and at this point, it would take a miracle to reach the World Series. But have faith, have hope, have a drink, and have a look at our ideas...

1. Ryan Bliss, INF, and Michael Morales, RHP, to Tampa Bay; Brandon Lowe, 2B, to Seattle; 2.9m added.

Tampa is still technically in the hunt, but they have alternatives for the often-injured Lowe, and getting a MLB-ready infielder with options and a promising pitching prospect seems like the kind of return we could expect in a deal with the Rays. 

So, why would Seattle want an often-injured player you ask? Because he's healthy now and he's one of the best second baseman when healthy. 

We're not all that confident that Tampa is actually willing to trade him this month. Nobody should think that Tampa can't afford to keep him. But if he is available, we're hopeful a package like this would be enough. 

2. Logan Evans, SP, Jonatan Clase, OF, and Spencer Packard, DH/OF, to Oakland; Brent Rooker, DH, to Seattle. 

Oakland needs starting pitching, and if they're going to sacrifice their best hitter, regardless of defensive limitations, the return has to be enticing. We're hopeful something like this would be enticing. 

3. Mitch Haniger, OF, and 7.5m to Chicago White Sox; Yoán Moncada, 3B, to Seattle; 10.3m added in 2024.

Raise your had if you saw this suggestion coming. Haniger and Moncada may benefit from a change, and with Seattle covering the difference in salary (which accounts for Moncada's buyout), there's zero risk for either team exchanging those particular contracts and there should be room for Haniger in right field as Chicago is all but guaranteed to move Pham by the deadline. 

Moncada is expected back around the end of the month. Perhaps playing for a contender could light a fire under him. Regardless, he would serve as infield depth if he isn't on the IL. This is one of the few ways we could see Haniger moved respectfully. We're hopeful Chicago would be interested in a free year of rebound potential. 

4. Ty France, 1B, and Peyton Alford, RHP, to Detroit; Mark Canha, OF, to Seattle; 1.57m added

This is a way for Detroit to get something out of Canha while saving a few bucks and giving them a potential stopgap first baseman. We're hopeful they're lack of a true first baseman, replacement-level or otherwise, makes this feasible. 

5. Dominic Canzone, OF, Carlos Vargas, RHP, and Garrett Davila, LHP, to Toronto; Isiah Kiner-Falefa, INF, and Yimi García, RHP, to Seattle; 4.5m added

Toronto has a glaring need for left-handed hitters and relievers, especially with García hitting free agency. Canzone, Vargas and Davila would give them depth and possible answers for 2025 and beyond. 

6. DFA Jorge Polanco, 2B.

A lack of zone contact and barrels kind of sums it up, but since returning from the IL, he's been incredibly aggressive and results have been even worse. He has struck out in nearly half of his PAs. 

This might play out similarly as it did with Wong last year. He'll probably get the rest of the month to turn things around, but we aren't optimistic. 

Seattle would be responsible for the remainder of his 2024 salary, so perhaps he'll get a shot with a team like Boston. This is assuming he isn't able to be packaged to offset salary somehow.

7. DFA Mike Baumann, RHP.

Perhaps Seattle could toss him into a package, but he has no value, no options, and no place on the active roster with any further additions. 

The Effect on Payroll

With these deals, Seattle would be taking on roughly 19 million more this year for a total around 160m. We'll talk about 2025 in the offseason, but it's worth noting that Polanco's 2025 option is equal to Lowe's, IKF will earn 7.5m, Canha will be a free agent, Haniger will be off the books, and Moncada's buyout is 5m. In other words, there wouldn't be much future committed salary from these deals.

Lineup

1. Josh Rojas, 3B L

2. Julio Rodríguez, CF

3. Brandon Lowe, 2B L

4. Brent Rooker, DH

5. Cal Raleigh, C S

6. Dylan Moore, 1B

7. JP Crawford, SS L

8. Victor Robles, LF

9. Mark Canha, RF 

Bench: Mitch Garver, IKF, Luke Raley, Yoán Moncada.

Seattle would have the ability to rotate the DH (yeah, I know) and virtually all of the infield positions when needed. We would like to see more of Robles in a corner, but it could be Raley, Moore, or even Rooker. 

Bullpen

1. Andrés Muñoz

2. Gregory Santos

3. Yimi García

4. Ryne Stanek

5. Tayler Saucedo L

6. Gabe Speier L

7. Trent Thornton

8. Austin Voth

Though Seattle wouldn't be shaking up the bullpen significantly with external additions, they would indeed be tightening up. Yimi's presence wouldn't just give Seattle that trio of dominant late-inning options they thought they'd have with Brash, it would take pressure off Stanek and Thornton, giving Seattle stronger middle-inning options than they've had.

The rotation would presumably be the same, though we can probably expect spot-starts from Hancock and possibly even Evans in September. 

***

It should go without saying that we'd love to see Arozarena, Díaz, and Paredes brought to Seattle. It should also go without saying that the likeliness of that happening is slim to none. The same goes for a quartet of Diamondbacks and any other star on a team still believing they can contend, regardless of how likely that may be. 

You could argue this is a deadline approach that focuses on players with less than stellar health and/or limited skills and you wouldn't be wrong. But that's reflected in the returns and we would argue these deals are not just affordable, but they'd also give Seattle better flexibility than they've had. 

Call this desperate, call it pointless, call it whatever you wish. We call it feasible, which is more than we could say about any proposal involving Vlad, Bo, or a number of other often-mentioned players. The suggestions we're making would have Seattle parting with a handful of prospects, but they'd be getting 2+ years of control with Lowe and Rooker, which would also likely make the offseason a little easier. 

Let's see if one of these moves, or moves involving comparable players (or anything else!), come to realization. I believe...I believe... It's silly, but I believe. Hopefully, we won't need to use 'hopefully' so desperately in the coming weeks. 

Happy Holidays!