Seattle Mariners: 4 Under-the-Radar Offseason Trade Targets

Since becoming the Mariners’ general manager in late 2015, no one has made more trades than Jerry Dipoto. In fact, it hasn’t even been close. That won’t change this offseason, as the busiest GM in baseball will surely be very active on the phones once again.

Last month, we took a look at five “under-the-radar” free agents Seattle could target over the next few weeks. With the GM Meetings starting this Monday, teams will begin conceiving trade ideas and put some of the offseason’s biggest deals into motion. Some trades may be agreed upon and finalized before the meetings wrap up, and the Mariners could very well be involved in one or two of those.

Dipoto’s regime have pulled off some of their best deals in the month of November, acquiring the likes of Leonys Martín, Mitch Haniger, and Jean Segura rather early on in their respective offseason periods. Perhaps one of Seattle’s most critical moves of the 2018-19 offseason will be coming in the next few days.

The problem, however, is how big of a splash the M’s could actually afford to make. Even with Nelson Cruz, Nick Vincent, and Erasmo Ramírez off the books, Dipoto and co. are expected to work under a relatively restrictive payroll limit. Of course, their farm system isn’t the most attractive to potential trade partners either, limiting compensation options even further. They can get creative in the free agent market with how they distribute dollars over the course of a contract, but assuming a hefty contract through trade might not be as attractive to them as it has been in the past.

What this boils down to is that Dipoto, one of baseball’s most creative general managers, will need to be even more unique in his approach than he’s ever been. Bounce-back candidates may be a theme throughout this list. You’ve been warned.

These are four under-the-radar players Seattle could pursue in the trade market this offseason.