3 Outside-the-Box Trade Ideas for the Mariners
Free agency is ideal but there are no guarantees.
The Seattle Mariners are in a great position to aggressively pursue big-name free agents this offseason. The club has a need for more offensive production in at least two spots in the lineup, and appears to be a fit for all four star shortstops expected to hit the market in the next week or two. But spending money is just one avenue for the Mariners to gain ground on the league’s elites.
President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and GM Justin Hollander could be forced to fill one or more of the team’s needs by way of trade, something far from foreign to the Mariners since Dipoto arrived on the scene prior to the 2015-16 offseason.
Over the last several months via Twitter and Baseball Things, I’ve mentioned dozens of possible trade targets, including Ian Happ, Brandon Lowe, Kolten Wong, Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler, Jeff McNeil, Joey Wendle, and Randy Arozarena, among others.
From The Baseball Things Podcast
And there are the obvious ideas, such as swapping out Jesse Winker for someone else’s underachieving, arbitration-eligible bat such as Cody Bellinger, or tossing in a prospect or two for Ahmed Rosario in Cleveland. All sensible targets and ideas.
To add to those thoughts, here are five from outside the box, so to speak. Players e may not really think of trade subjects by their own club, but could be in the right circumstances, because let’s be honest, every team has roster holes to fill or upgrade.
Willy Adames, SS — Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers acquired Adames for pretty cheap when they sent Drew Rasmussen and J.P. Feyereisen to Tampa Bay early in 2021 and he’s been worth eight wins combiend the last two seasons.
Adames has two years before free agency and just turned 27. Milwaukee, if the Mariners go the trade route to add to their middle infield this winter, should probably be one of the first calls.
He’s a right-handed bat with plus power — 56 homers the last two season — with at least an average hit tool that strangely faded this past season when he batted .238 with a .298 on-base percentage. Adames is a solid baserunner and an above-average defender at shortstop.
Considering his track record and the fact he’s just turned 27, Adames is a pretty good bet to post a .250/.320/.450 slash or better, making him a massively valuable bat considering his defensive abilities. He earned $4.6 million in 2022 and is set to earn between $21-25 million over the next two campaigns through arbitration.
The Brewers, a club just taken over by Matt Arnold when David Stearns stepped down, have multiple areas of need, led by their own offensive deficiencies, but they may feel a bit of a payroll squeeze considering they ended 2022 at $150 million, the most in team history and $20 million more than 2021. Trading Adames could be a way they fill mulltiple roster needs and cut some payroll at the same time.
It gets foggy when thinking about how the two clubs could match up in a trade. What do the Mariners have the Brewers need? It doesn’t need to be complicated, however. If you’re Arnold and you’ve determined trading Adames is worth exploring and/or the payroll squeeze is real and cumbersome to the club’s future, the goal is ultimate, not necessarily immediate, meaning Milwaukee may not have to benefit equal value in terms of big-league players to consider a trade.
There’s also the idea of a three-team deal.
But if I’m Milwaukee and Seattle calls and is willing to discuss Jesse Winker, Emerson Hancock, Chris Flexen (The Brewers used 10 starters in 2022), Jarred Kelenic, and cash to make Winker free and Flexen about half price for 2023, it would get my attention, at the very least.
Of course, I imagine other clubs would want in on Adames, too, including Boston if they lose Xander Bogaerts, the Dodgers if they let Trea Turner walk, and the Braves if they pass on paying Dansby Swanson.
Also, for those wondering about Christian Yelich, just say no. He’s owed $162.5 million through 2028, has shown some wear and tear the past three seasons and hasn’t been more than a slightly above-average hitter since his monster year in 2019.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B — Miami Marlins
Chisholm would be a ridiculously expensive option, but he might be worth every ounce of the freight it takes to get him — if the Mariners can even produce such a package.
Chisholm can really play, showing no significant weaknesses at age 24. The one mild complaint is his hit tool, marked by the swing-and-miss in his game. But he has above-average power that may end up plus, can really run, and has all the tools to play an above-average shortstop. He’s already shown he can more than handle second base.
The Marlins’ plans are going to dictate Chisholm’s availability. If Kim Ng wants to win now and isn’t going to be allowed to spend to supplement her club, trading Chisholm is either staying put or is only available for immediate and significant help. The club has needs in the outfield, in the bullpen, and behind the plate, and don’t eactly have first base settled, either.
If Ng prefers the latter — win now, keep Chisholm or trade him only for multiple fixes at the big-league level, Seattle is out of the question. Trading, say, Ty France, Jarred Kelenic, and Luis Torrens is one thing, but adding the headliner remains the issue — the Mariners don’t have one to offer. If Miami were to punt on the immedate future, it would not only open the door for Seattle and other clubs, but it would run counter to everything else the Marlins have been doing of late, including the extension for Sandy Alcantara, keeping Pablo Lopez, and the signing of Avisail Garcia to a four-year deal last winter.
But even in the latter scenario, the Marlins could greatly benefit in the right deal for Chisholm. Dipoto just might need a third team to make it happen.
Hey, these are OTB ideas for a reason.
Tim Anderson, SS — Chicago White Sox
Anderson, 29, is entering the option years in his six-year contract signed way back in 2017. He’ll earn $26.5 million the next two seasons.
Anderson’s injuries have piled up of late, as he’s missed 133 games the past three seasons. But he’s always hit and has been above-average across the board — including defensively — and the White Sox may see their way to moving him while he has value since the club is apparently not open to premium free agents.
Anderson isn’t the impact offensive player Boagerts, Turner, Swanson, Adames, or Chisholm represents, but he fills a hole for at least two years at more than reasonable costs. He’d be cheaper to acquire than Adames or Chisholm, however, and leaves a lot of ammo — both money and trade assets — to make other additions.
A combo of an Anderson trade and the signing of a Brandon Nimmo is a pretty good offensive push, particularly if it comes with the re-signing of Mitch Haniger.
Or, while we’re on the subject of thinking outside the box, trading for Anderson and signing Bogaerts, or another of the top shortstops, shouldn’t be out of the question, either. In such a scenario, J.P. Crawford likely stays at shortstop, Anderson plays second, and Bogaerts primarily plays third.
This would mean Eugeno Suarez splits time between DH, 1B, and 3B over the course of the long season. The Mariners offense would be absurdly better, the defense would take a step in the right direction — they weren’t bad in 2022, but this alignment certainly projects to turn more balls in play into outs on the infield.
The Mariners can’t afford to play the ‘simple’ game right now. The club must look beyond the path of least resistance in order to truly fix the issues with the lineup and climb toward the best teams in baseball. And while it’s less-than-idea, trades might have to be a major part of it. Again.