Mariners need rotation help: 3 names to watch in August

Option 2: Ervin Santana

If Dipoto could deal his way to the Twins’ veteran anchor, Mariners fans should be beyond stoked. When deals go down in August, the return is typically pretty small. So if Dipoto somehow worked out a deal, the M’s would be getting a very solid rotation arm likely for pennies on the dollar.

In 2017, Santana has posted an ERA of 3.27 over 151.1 innings. The Seattle rotation is poor to begin with, but a high innings, low ERA pitcher is not exactly a familiar concept for the Mariners.  The Twins likely will not want to part with Santana though, so this deal is pretty much just a hypothetical for the sake of looking at options.

Under contract through 2018, an option like Santana could secure a decent return, something that an August trade, as aforementioned, would not bring the Twins. Yet, no stone should be left unturned by Jerry Dipoto, and Santana should wind up passing through waivers.

Likelihood of deal: Higher than the first, but still LOW