The Mariners should become aggressive sellers this trade season

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Let’s face it, the 25 men that make up the Mariners roster are not a playoff team. They could possibly finish the year as a .500 team. This team could break the record for longest win streak and then immediately after break the record for longest losing streak.

This team just doesn’t have the consistency needed to make the playoffs let alone sustain a playoff run. For example, on Saturday, May 27, the Mariners were eight games under .500 having just dropped their seventh game in their last eight tries. Then they rattled off 9 of 10 and were 30-30. Then some more struggling play sent them to 33-37, but six straight wins and they were two games over.

This team just doesn’t play consistently well, but doesn’t ultimately play consistently bad. Like they have stretches where they play like the worst team in the league, but ultimately bounce back with a string of wins.

But now that we’ve established this current group of guys isn’t a playoff team, we should look at how they can become a playoff team in the future. Click through to see two moves the Mariners should make to set themselves up well for the future.

Trade Nelson Cruz

Cruz is one of the Mariners most prolific hitters. He swats dingers like nobody’s business, rakes in RBIs, and consistently hits around .300. His addition to the lineup a few years ago was one of the best moves in Mariners franchise history. They took a risk on an older bat and he has simply produced.

In 2017, Cruz is hitting .290 with 15 homers and 63 RBIs. he’s also posting a OPS of .880

Trade partners for the M’s are semi limited, because at this point with his age and shot legs, he’s really only a DH. So that takes out the NL teams. The Indians have Encarnaccion, and the Rays have this hot-hitting 28-year-old, so they’re out.

Kyle Seager

Now, before you go into conniptions over Kyle Seager being on this list, let’s acknowledge that he’s probably the best piece the Mariners have to deal. I mean Paxton and Segura are solid too, but the Mariners have made their commitment to Segura, and I think the Mariners would be hesitant to drop a quality starter at the moment.

Seager is a proven, but young player who has high upside even if 2017 isn’t going the best for him. The M’s could likely swap Seager for a collection of prospects, and third base, while pretty packed with talent, isn’t really as hard to deal as DH is.

Possible partners I could see on a Seager swap could be: Texas, as Joey Gallo isn’t really hacking it with his .194 BA. Maybe Philadelphia would be interested. They’re definitely going to be sellers this year, but Seager could be too attractive to pass up, and the Phillies have a pretty nice farm currently. The White Sox could be looking to boost as well.

I know I mentioned the Yankees with Cruz, but Headley isn’t exactly the greatest either, and they are definitely in a spot where adding young talent is great. Seager could be a huge boost to an already great Yankees team.

Next: Top 10 Mariners Prospects: #7 Andrew Moore

Let me just say, I do not enjoy the thought of seeing Seager leave. The guy is a stud across the board and a fan favorite as well as a personal favorite of mine. Thinking about someone else manning the hot corner at Safeco is a little weird, but sometimes tough moves like this have to be made, and hopefully the Mariners make the right ones to set themselves up for 2018.

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Let’s face it, the 25 men that make up the Mariners roster are not a playoff team. They could possibly finish the year as a .500 team. This team could break the record for longest win streak and then immediately after break the record for longest losing streak.

Trade Nelson Cruz

Kyle Seager

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