A Pathetic Attempt to Bring Blake Snell to the Mariners

Mariners and Tiger and Ray’s, Oh My!

Okay, so here comes the ridiculous part. Finding a way for these 3 teams to find an equitable trade. It’s not easy to do and is complicated to follow. So let’s start at the top.

Tampa Bay will almost certainly want MLB ready, or close to prospects to even entertain moving Snell. We know that the Mariners already have an interest in Detroit Tigers lefty Matthew Boyd. It is likely that names have already been discussed in a potential swap, which could help expedite things.

However, the Mariners cannot get both Boyd and Snell, so Detroit is going to ship Boyd to Tampa Bay. For their troubles, Seattle will send Detroit Kyle Lewis. So far, Seattle gets Snell, Detroit gets Lewis, and Tampa gets Boyd.

But of course, there is no shot in hell Tampa takes that deal, so we need to find more pieces. Tampa Bay has desperately trying to sell anybody making money, so it’s safe to assume Seattle cannot move anybody with even a decent contract to Tampa. Enter Ben Gamel.

Gamel, a 26-year-old, has proven to be, at the very least, a solid 4th OF. We have also witnessed, in 2 consecutive years, streaks that suggest perhaps Gamel has more to give a Major League team. Gamel is right on the edge of entering his statistical prime. He also won’t be a free agent until after the 2022 season.

So now, Tampa has Boyd and Gamel. Seattle has Snell, and Detroit has Lewis. Getting there, but still not enough.

It is unlikely that the Mariners would part ways with their 2 best prospect bats, in addition to Ben Gamel. So Evan White is probably safe for now. However, Seattle still needs to add, and they don’t have a lot more to offer. So they’ll need, particularly from the Detroit Tigers.

But how do you get Detroit to pitch in? What do you have that they want? Simply put, money. Hold your nose Mariners fans, because this could sting. The Mariners are going to have to take on at least half of the remaining contract of Jordan Zimmerman.

Zimmerman is actually having a decent season but is due about $62 million over the next 2 1/2 seasons. Why take him on? By allowing Detroit to rid themselves of a large chunk of that contract, you can extract an extra prospect from them to ship to Detroit. Namely, Kyle Funkhouser.

To recap again so everybody is caught up, Seattle is now getting Snell, Zimmerman, and cash. Tampa is getting Boyd, Gamel, and Funkhouser, and Detroit is getting Lewis and about $30 million in salary relief over the next 2 1/2 years.

Of course, saving the Tiger $31 million won’t be good enough for them to just give away a nice prospect. So, of course, Seattle is gonna have to give something small to Detroit. Hey, I never said this was gonna be easy. To help fill the gap in their MLB rotation, Seattle will send Rob Whalen to Detroit.

But why stop there? Seattle needs another OF with Gamel now in Tampa. And Detroit has a really good one in Leonys Martin. So now, Seattle will be sending Daniel Vogelbach to Detroit as well.

But we cannot forget Tampa Bay. So far, they have gotten Matthew Boyd, Ben Gamel, and Kyle Funkhouser for Blake Snell. Guess what? Still not enough. Seattle has already given a ton. But they are the ones who would be getting the best player in the deal. It is them who must give up the most.

So Seattle ships off perhaps the highest upside player in their system to Tampa. Young, 17-year-old Julio Rodriguez. Rodriguez bat may just be the best in the Mariners farm system when all is said a done. He has an advanced eye at the plate. A good swing. Good bat speed. Plus, easy power. Some scouts believe he will be a middle of the order thumper for years when he reaches the big leagues.

And yet, Seattle may still need to sprinkle some other prospects around to make this happen.