The Seattle Mariners Should Not Trade Chris Taylor

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You all remember Adam Jones, right? The ex-Mariner who is currently battling for a spot in the World Series as a member of the Baltimore Orioles? We traded him at the young age of 21 for star pitcher in Eric Bedard, and it didn’t end well.

Now I hear speculation of the Mariners wanting to trade Chris Taylor for a power bat in the lineup, and that makes me nervous that the whole Jones situation will happen again.

We don’t have a large sample size to pull from, but here are some numbers.

Taylor, through 151 plate appearances this season, and at the age of 23, had a .287/.347/.346 triple slash in his first year in the big leagues. He drove in 9 RBIs, and didn’t hit a home run.

Jones, in his 23-year old season, after having four years of experience in the league, and his first season with the Orioles, hit for .277/.335/.457, hit in 70 runs and hit 19 baseballs out of the park.

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The M’s other shortstop, Brad Miller, hit .221/.288/.365 last year, which, believe it or not, is worse than what he hit in the 2013 season (.265/.318/.418,  for those asking). He also hit in only 36 RBIs in a little less than three times Taylor’s at-bats.

We all know that the M’s need a power hitter for next year to make a stronger push in to the playoffs, and although Miller did lead the Mariners in slugging percent for the latter half of the season, if the Mariners decide to trade one of their short stops for anybody, I propose it should be Miller.

That way, they can get the power outfielder they need, and Taylor, under the tutelage of Robinson Cano, can develop in to an All-Star short stop that he is capable of becoming.

In essence, I’m proposing to the fans and team to wait it out a little bit longer. The win-now mentality has burned the Mariners in the past, and the it’s time they ditch that mentality and let things fall the way they do. After all, what is one more season, after we’ve waited for 13?