Mariners Rumors: Seattle Interested in Zack Wheeler

Drip, drip, drip. Leaks are finally starting to come out about the Mariners’ interest in certain players at the upcoming trade deadline. We heard about Brad Ziegler earlier tonight, and now the M’s have been linked to another National League East pitcher.

This time, it’s a starter: Zack Wheeler of the New York Mets. According to Andy Martino of SNY.tv, the Mariners were among 12 teams that sent scouts to watch Wheeler’s start against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.

Wheeler went seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits with three strikeouts and a walk. He got the win in what will likely be his last start in a Mets uniform.

Originally advertised as a pitcher of equal talent to Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom, Wheeler has dealt with significant injuries his entire professional career. The biggest one being a UCL tear that would ultimately require Tommy John surgery back in 2015.

Meanwhile, deGrom and Syndergaard became superstars, and Steven Matz had suddenly replaced Wheeler in their “Big 3” of sorts.

Wheeler hasn’t been able to live up to the high expectations placed on him, mainly because he can’t seem to stay on the field. 2018 has been a different story, however, and he appears to be well on his way to his first full MLB season since 2014.

Through 19 starts, Wheeler has a 4.33 ERA (3.68 FIP/4.05 xFIP) with an 8.58 K/9 and 3.23 BB/9. His arm seems to finally be fully recovered from his past surgery, exhibited by the uptick in his velocity. As of now, Wheeler is averaging a career-best 95.7 miles-per-hour on his fastball.

With those numbers, Wheeler is fairly comparable to freshly-traded Nathan Eovaldi, who has also undergone Tommy John surgery… twice.

Wheeler’s been fantastic over his last six starts, carrying a 2-1 record out of those games to the tune of a 3.40 ERA (3.33 FIP/3.75 xFIP). His stock has been bumped up quite a bit due to his recent success for sure.

Still, it’s hard to gauge what he would specifically cost in a trade. While he’s showing signs of reaching his potential and one more year of club control, the injury concerns may scare some of his suitors away. Some teams may see more value in spending their resources on a more “sure thing.”

If that ends up being the case, the Mariners won’t have to enter a hellacious bidding war with multiple teams. But it may cost them one of their shiniest prospects, as MLBTradeRumors is reporting that the Mets will likely see a top 10 prospect plus more heading their way in return for Wheeler.

Wheeler likely won’t net a prospect the caliber of Kyle Lewis, but Evan White or Julio Rodriguez look like prime candidates to headline the Mariners’ offer.

Ideally, the Mariners would look to have Asdrubal Cabrera packaged with Wheeler in a potential deal. It was reported a couple days ago that the Mariners have interest in acquiring Cabrera sometime this week.

As Martino’s report noted, a Wheeler trade could happen at any time now. The Mariners have a day off tomorrow, so things may just line up perfectly. Stay tuned, I guess.