Sodo Mojo’s Mariners Trade Deadline Plan

Wrap Party

Well, there you have it. Our trade deadline plan. We told you it was aggressive. Hopefully, you found it creative. Oh, and you can stop right there. I know what you’re thinking. You want to know where the starting pitcher is.

It’s a fair question. But one we’ve already partially answered. Starting pitching is expensive. There are a lot of buyers, particularly in the National League. The Mariners aren’t going to win many bidding wars for those guys, so finding one that makes sense is tough.

What the Mariners can do, is shorten the game, making their starting pitching less important. By adding Seth Lugo, you add an inning eater, albeit not a traditional one. By adding Loup, you have a second LHP who misses bats and gets groundballs.

Adding Yates gives you a fourth high-leverage option (5 if Nicasio figures it out). The new bullpen now looks like Edwin Diaz, Alex Colome, James Pazos, Juan Nicasio, Kirby Yates, Aaron Loup, and Seth Lugo or Nick Vincent. Adding these arms also allows Seattle to make a trade using an MLB player.

The Mariners have 37 men on the 40 man roster. We added 6 big league players. However, we traded Frietas and Povse, which brings us down to one spot on the 40 man roster. The easiest way to clear the spot is to DFA Andrew Romine since you now have Josh Harrison.

Now, finding 6 spots on the 25 man is a bit trickier. Removing Romine for Harrison is one. 5 spots to go. Elias and Bradford each have an option(s) remaining, so sending them down for Loup and Lugo is easy. Lugo also has 2 options, so moving him down if you want to stretch him out as a starter is possible.

Heredia could be optioned for a while, giving Haniger the start in CF against LHP, with Harrison manning a corner spot. Ryon Healy could also be optioned. Even Ben Gamel has an option left. Jerry Dipoto has done an excellent job of acquiring talent with roster flexibility, and this is one of the positives.

At the end of the day, do we think the Mariners will make this many deals before the July 31st trade deadline? No. It is highly unlikely. Could they add a handful of players to their 25 man roster? Yes.

We cannot forget that while the trade deadline is on July 31st, teams can still make trades after the player clears through waivers. You may see guys like Cole Hamels, Ervin Santana, and Jordan Zimmerman moved then.

Dipoto has no issues making deals in August. In his time in Seattle, he has acquired Mike Leake, Ben Gamel, and Yonder Alonso in these types of deals.

Next: The 10 Worst Mariners Since 2001

We don’t know what Dipoto will do in the next 20 days. All we know is what we would like to see him do. The Mariners are buyers. And with Jerry Dipoto at the helm, there is no guessing what he will do.