How to find depth starters, plus the ripple effect with bats
Free agent signings and trades can add new players to the market.
As the Seattle Mariners continue to look for offense, the free-agent market is starting to dry up a bit, and there hasn’t been much movement on the trade front. But the current landscape isn’t static. A given signing or trade can put additional players in the trade pool, players that aren’t generally considered available at the moment.
But let’s make something clear while we’re on the subject: the Mariners need two hitters, not one, and any scenario without two more is a failure of an offseason. Argue with a cloud.
Compared to when the season ended, the club has two fewer proven bats. Josh Naylor was brought back, but Jorge Polanco — the club’s best hitter not named Cal Raleigh in 2025 — signed with the New York Mets, and Suarez may be priced out of Seattle.
In many ways, the Mariners’ lineup is right back where it was before adding Naylor and Suarez at the trade deadline.
As free agents are signing, options are narrowing, but the trade market is fluid. The Ripple Effect is perpetual, and could be a source of assistance to Seattle this winter. Here are some potential scenarios.