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

By Colby Patnode

PEORIA, AZ - MARCH 4: A hat and glove of of the Seattle Mariners is seen prior to the game against the San Diego Padreson March 4, 2015 at Peoria Stadium in Peoria, Arizona. The Mariners defeated the Padres 4-3 in 10 innings. (Photo by Rich Pilling/Getty Images)
PEORIA, AZ - MARCH 4: A hat and glove of of the Seattle Mariners is seen prior to the game against the San Diego Padreson March 4, 2015 at Peoria Stadium in Peoria, Arizona. The Mariners defeated the Padres 4-3 in 10 innings. (Photo by Rich Pilling/Getty Images) /
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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)
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)
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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