Ranking All 7 Seattle Mariners Trades This Off-Season... For Now

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The Seattle Mariners have been, surprise, the busiest team the first 6 weeks of the MLB Hot Stove. They have made 7 trades, and today some of our staff ranked the trades.

We were curious as to what Mariners trades our staff liked and disliked the most. We didn’t have hard set criteria, instead choosing to let our voters use whatever logic or emotions they wanted to when ranking these 7 trades.

Interestingly, we really had 3 trades that all came close to claiming our top spot and even had a tie for 4th place. Our methodology for coming to these “consensus” ranks was simple. I asked our participants to rank the deals one through seven.

Then, we add the total ranks and divided that number by four, the number of our staff who participated. You probably know this as an average. Like golf, the low score wins. Now that we have explained our incredibly complex methodology (joke), let’s get started.

7. Ricardo Sanchez, LHP (6.5)

So full disclosure, 2 of our rankers forgot to rank this trade. But if it was so irrelevant to them that they forgot about, it is safe to assume they would rank it 7th. It’s not that the trade is bad, or that Sanchez isn’t a worthwhile prospect to add.

The LHP will enter 2019 as a 22-year-old and has flashed good stuff that may make him a starter. The fastball sits 92 but can touch 95 with a decent amount of movement. The curveball used to flash plus but is now just an above-average offering.

What will likely keep Sanchez from reaching his ceiling of a back-end starter is his changeup and command. Sanchez has a changeup that flashes average, which could give him 3 average offerings to get through a lineup 2 or 3 teams.

But Sanchez still has time to find his feel and could be a decent left-handed reliever if he can’t figure it out in the rotation.

6. Jean Segura To Phillies (5.5)

SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 04: Jean Segura #2 of the Seattle Mariners walks off the field after the top of the seventh inning, in which Baltimore Orioles scored four runs at Safeco Field on September 4, 2018, in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images) /

Honestly, I’m not surprised. Mariners fans were furious when this deal was announced. 3 of our rankers had this as the 6th or 7th worst trade, and only one ranker, yours truly, ranked it third. So real quick, why do I like it so much more than the rest of the staff?

Well, part of it is because I believe that Jean Segura was a problem in the clubhouse. His manager certainly didn’t mind if he upset Segura, and the fight between Segura and Dee Gordon appears to have been an argument about Robinson Cano not playing second base.

So you ship him out of town, and bring back the hardest commodity to find in baseball: a young shortstop with legitimate upside. In addition, I still consider this trade to be incomplete. As of right now, I see this trade as Segura, James Pazos, and Juan Nicasio for J.P. Crawford, Edwin Encarnacion, and a Top 100 draft pick. If/when Dipoto trades Encarnacion, it’ll complete the Segura to the Phillies trade.

It is possible our other rankers just didn’t see the trade as incomplete as I did. We did not discuss our ranks prior to this article being posted. I assume this rank probably represents a rather large portion of our viewership, and that is okay.

My initial reaction was much the same as theirs. But I just see this different than most, which is fine. I’m not going to write off J.P. Crawford as a bust just because he struggled in 225 PAs. But these two trades were pretty easily the lowest ranked by our staff. Now, we get into the fun stuff.

A Tie! James Paxton to New York, Alex Colome for Omar Narvaez (4)

ANAHEIM, CA – JULY 12: James Paxton #65 of the Seattle Mariners pitches during the first inning of a game at Angel Stadium on July 12, 2018, in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

So… we have a tie. The way we reached this tie was interesting. 2 of our rankers, Ty Gonzalez and Josh Maduell, ranked the James Paxton trade at 5 and 6 respectively. However, Jeff Nooney and I ranked this trade at number 1 and 4.

Why Jeff ranked this trade number 1, I do not know. But why Josh ranked it as the second worst, I also don’t know. I can only speak for myself, and this trade came it at 4 in my personal ranks, just after the Jean Segura trade.

From a package standpoint, the Mariners received Justus Sheffield, Erik Swanson, and Dom Thompson-Williams. Honestly, I think the package coming back to Seattle was a little light on the overall, likely because the Mariners demanded Justus Sheffield be in the package instead of a prospect who is further away from the big leagues.

The Alex Colome for Omar Narvaez reached this spot in a much more consistent style. The Narvaez trade ranked 3,3,4,6 by us. I was the low man on the totem pole on this deal. But in all reality, I love it.

Getting a 26-year-old, offensive-minded catcher with 4-years of club control for an expensive, albeit good, reliever seems like a steal. Narvaez defense, which has been much maligned, may not be as bad as the numbers say, considering his pitching staff in Chicago was garbage.

I totally see why the guys ranked this highly. For me, it speaks to the quality of the trades Jerry Dipoto has made this off-season. Narvaez for Colome is a great deal, and somehow, I had ranked as the second worst trade of the off-season.

That is not a sentiment of many of the past Mariners off-seasons.

Mike Zunino for Mallex Smith (3)

HOUSTON, TX – AUGUST 12: Mike Zunino #3 of the Seattle Mariners hits a home run in the seventh inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on August 12, 2018, in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Now things get really close. Our top 3 trades are all separated by less than half a point. Coming in at number 3 is the first trade of the off-season is the Mike Zunino, Guillermo Heredia and Michael Plassemeyer for Mallex Smith and Jake Fraley trade.

The ranks of this trade were fairly consistent; 3,3,1,5. Josh Maduell was the high man on the totem pole with this trade, ranking it as his favorite. Yours truly was the low man on the totem pole, ranking it 5th.

Again, I do like this trade. 2 years of Zunino for 4 years of Mallex Smith is, on paper, a good deal. Finding a catcher who can give you any offensive value is hard to come by. But if the Mariners aren’t actually planning on competing in 2019 and possibly 2020, Seattle should be shopping anybody who might be gone after 2020 for anybody who could still be around in 2021 and beyond.

If Mallex Smith is the same player he was in 2018 for the next 4 years, it is an absolute steal for Seattle. It is tough to argue against ranking this trade higher, but I just don’t like it as much as a few other trades.

Josh is totally justified in ranking this as his favorite trade. And not to be overlooked in this trade is Jake Fraley, a Ben Gamel like outfielder with superior defense, who will start the season in AA Arkansas.

This trade was the first indication that this Mariners rebuild would be different than most others in recent memory. They aren’t interested in the traditional 4-6 year timeline that most rebuilds do. Instead, they want a 2-4 year window. Will it work? Who knows? But could it work? Absolutely.

Carlos Santana for Edwin Encarnacion and Draft Pick (2.75)

SEATTLE, WA – APRIL 1: Edwin Encarnacion #10 of the Cleveland Indians rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run off or starting pitcher Mike Leake #8 of the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning of a game at Safeco Field on April 1, 2018, in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

Coming in at number 2 is the most recent Mariners trade, Carlos Santana for Edwin Encarnacion and the 77th overall pick. Josh, Ty, and I each ranked this deal second, while Jeff ranked the deal fifth, giving the trade a 2.75 average rank, which is just .25 points behind the winner.

For me, there is very little downside in this deal. Santana and Encarnacion are comparable players. But for Seattle to get a Top 100 draft choice in the 2019 MLB Draft out of this deal is fantastic. Plus, they get $9 million in salary relief overall in this trade.

In addition, they still have a semi-valuable trade asset in Encarnacion, who has already drawn interest from the Rays, Rockies, and Twins. The Mariners got money, a Top 100 pick, and a player with value in the trade market for a player who doesn’t fit into your rebuild? That is just awesome.

But finally, we have reached the top trade of the Mariners off-season thus far. And as you may have surmised, it is the biggest trade of the off-season.

Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to the Mets (2.5)

SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 9: Reliever Edwin Diaz #39 of the Seattle Mariners delivers a pitch during the ninth inning of a game against the New York Yankees at Safeco Field on September 9, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners won 3-2. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

The Cano/Diaz trade comes in at number 1 amongst our rankers, just edging out the Zunino and Santana trades. This deal got 2 first-place votes, from myself and Ty Gonzalez. It also received a second-place vote from Jeff Nooney. Only Josh Maduell seems to dislike this deal, ranking it as the second worst in the off-season.

Honestly, I assume Josh is just sad the Edwin Diaz isn’t a Mariner anymore, which is perfectly legitimate. Speaking just for me, I ranked this trade #1 because of how surprising it was. When the idea of packaging Cano and Diaz together first surfaced, I belittled the very notion.

Then, as the rumors began to crystallize, I hated it because, clearly, the Mariners were about to lose top end talent for Diaz just to unload some of Cano’s contract. That was so stupid. But then, it didn’t go down like that. Actually, not even close.

The Mariners didn’t sacrifice any top-level talent in this trade, shaved $66 million off their payroll for the next 5 years. I didn’t think Jerry Dipoto had the stones to trade Edwin Diaz at all. I was wrong.

I didn’t think the Mariners could trade Robinson Cano. I was wrong. And I especially didn’t think you could package Cano and Diaz together and get a fair package. But hey, Jerry Dipoto did the exactly that.

Plus Jarred Kelenic is awesome and Justin Dunn is pretty cool as well. The Mariners did something I didn’t think was possible. Actually, 3 things I didn’t think were possible. And yet, here we sit, and I love this deal. And that is why it is my number 1 deal, and also why it was the most popular trade among our staff.

Next. Mariners Trade For Right-Handed Slugger. dark

If you guys are curious, here is how our rankers individual sheets looked like.

Trade Ranks: Ty Josh Jeff Colby Overall
Paxton 5 6 1 4 4
Narvaez 3 3 4 6 4
Segura 6 7 6 3 5.5
Sanchez 7 5 7 7 6.5
Cano/Diaz 1 6 2 1 2.5
Zunino 3 1 3 5 3
Santana 2 2 5 2 2.75

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