A Totally Crazy 3 Team Trade Proposal for the Seattle Mariners

As the Seattle Mariners continue to look for starting pitchers, it leaves us at Sodo Mojo to wildly dream about what is probably not possible. This kind of creative thinking can, however, lead to some interesting ideas.

It is in this spirit of off-season dreaming, one random thought sprung into my head while waiting for some real news to drop. This proposal is so crazy wild, and is not meant to be an actual idea the Mariners should attempt.

The idea is centered around the latest news that the Texas Rangers have attempted to trade for Arizona Diamondback’s ace Zack Greinke . Everybody is aware that the Mariners have a poor farm system, and are desperate for a top of the rotation arm.

Because of the poor farm system, outbidding a team like the Yankees for a younger, cheaper option like Gerrit Cole is completely unrealistic. For the Mariners to land an ace, they need to be creative, and take on significant salary.

One of those names could be David Price. Price has a checkered history of burning bridges with every team he has pitched for, and is seen by many in baseball as a clubhouse problem. This, along with Price’s contract (5 years, $157 million left) makes him a huge risk.

The only reason to possibly consider this avenue is the player opt-out for Price after 2018. If Price opt-outs, then the marriage makes sense. It is unlikely the 32-year-old opt-out of a contract he cannot get in the open market, unless things go terribly for him in Seattle.

Instead of taking on a massive headache with Price, the following proposal gives the Mariners their ace, while helping 2 other teams shed salary. Here is the proposal:

Seattle trades Kyle Seager to Arizona, Luis Liberato to Atlanta

Arizona trades Zack Greinke to Seattle, Jake Lamb to Atlanta

Atlanta trades Julio Teheran to Arizona

The proposed deal gives Arizona an upgrade at third, and a replacement for Greinke. More importantly for Arizona, they clear roughly $15 million from their payroll. While not an ideal return, the deal could potentially get the Diamondbacks back in the J.D. Martinez sweepstakes.

For Atlanta, they shed one of their many young arms, and add both a future 3B and a decent prospect.

Finally, the Mariners add their ace that gives them a legit 1-2 punch of Greinke and James Paxton. Greinke has 4 years left on his deal, the same as Seager. If Arizona doesn’t eat any money, the difference is an average of $15.5 million more than they would be paying Seager.

Yes, there are numerous problems with this deal. For example; who the heck plays third base for the Mariners in 2018 and beyond? Wouldn’t it be easier to go overpay for Yu Darvish? Is the return for Arizona and Atlanta good enough?

Next: Mariner, Rays Could Make Another Trade?

These are all legitimate questions that poke so many holes in this idea that it makes it nearly impossible to happen. But one thing cannot be debated about this proposal. It is a hell of a lot of fun to think about.