Seattle Mariners: Will Felix be in Pinstripes Next Season?

The steady decline of Felix Hernandez is not exactly headline news to Mariner fans. He quickly found his way from club ace to reliever. If we’re comparing to another Seattle team, he is similar to Pete Carroll. His system used to work and dominate the league and now it doesn’t. The league has caught up and the glory days are behind.

Remember in 2012 when Felix was essentially unhittable in August capped off by his perfect game? Mariners fans must accept the fact that you may never see that same pitcher again. He is throwing offspeed, it’s just not fooling anybody. You could count on one hand the number of 2018 Felix starts where he wasn’t getting shelled.

It may be time to trade Felix. Not this offseason but perhaps next trade deadline. Now maybe Dipoto waits it out and sees if the Mariners are even in contention by July 2019. If so, it seems only fair to hang onto the former King for one last hurrah at an event he’s never sniffed in his 14-year career; October baseball.

But if the Mariners find themselves planning for 2020 halfway through 2019, it’s time to ship Felix. What about the Yankees? They clearly outdo us in the farm system so maybe they’re willing to give up two or three of their prospects. Doesn’t this sound like another Mariner?

A week before the 2012 deadline, our icon Ichiro was himself dealt with the Bronx for two Yankee prospects. One of them, Danny Farquhar, became a promising reliever before being traded to Tampa three years later. This move has worked out before.

And similar to Ichiro, Felix is a former All-Star who is past his prime. However, the Yanks are stacked enough that he could easily be their new fifth pitcher. The Yanks would especially have more incentive to make a deadline deal for Felix if one of their other starters was hurt. Let’s not mention how much a team like New York would attract Felix.

You would go from the longest active playoff drought to MLB’s most successful franchise ever. Wouldn’t you want to finally reach October for the first time in a long and dominant career? That’s what the Yankees do. They snatch a player who used to be another team’s star and once past his prime, he becomes one more piece on their multi-talented cogwheel.