The Mariners are off to their best start since 2003. If the Mariners want to continue this success, they’ll need to acquire some help before the July 31st trade deadline. One of the biggest needs is starting pitching, and there will be a lot of pitching available at the deadline.
The Detroit Tigers are a team that will be sellers at the deadline, and they have a few pitchers that could be moved. One of those pitchers is Matthew Boyd. Boyd is a product of Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish, WA. He spent his college years at Oregon State and was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays. He was part of the David Price deal back in 2015, that sent Price to the Jays. Boyd is 27 years old and is under club control until 2023. A perfect fit for the Mariners.
Boyd’s off to a career year in 2018, posting a 3.23 ERA through 13 starts. His 1.08 WHIP is the lowest of his short career. Back in 2017, he carried a 5.27 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. His hits per 9 innings are down to 6.5, down 4 full hits from his 2017 campaign. Needless to say, his stock has never been higher.
The Mariners could also fill a void at the utility position by acquiring Niko Goodrum. Goodrum is off to a great start in 2018, batting .240/.322/.455/.776. He also has 6 home runs, 20 runs batted in and 6 stolen bases. Goodrum has played multiple positions for the Tigers in 2018: 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, and RF.
Here is our trade proposal to land both Matthew Boyd and Niko Goodrum:
The Seattle Mariners have traded 1B Dan Vogelbach, RHP Max Povse, SS Bryson Brigman and RHP Seth Elledge to the Detroit Tigers for LHP Matthew Boyd and UTL Niko Goodrum.
On paper, this seems like a lot to trade for a 27-year-old pitcher and a utility man. This would be an “all in” type move. This trade would give the Mariners an extremely valuable Utility man and a pitcher that would be under club control for the next 5 seasons.
Dan Vogelbach would give the Tigers a first baseman that could play in the majors right away, with Miguel Cabrera being out for the rest of the 2018 season. Bryson Brigman is the biggest loss in the move, but with Dee Gordon and Jean Segura locked up for the next few years, he becomes expendable.
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All in all, this move would help the 2018 Mariners and beyond. You can never have too much pitching, and they will need all the help they can get to compete with the rest of the American League. As always, Go Mariners!