Power Ranking Seattle Mariners Top 5 Trade Chips for MLB Trade Deadline

While we are still at least a month away from MLB trade rumors flying at us every day, it doesn’t hurt to keep track of the stock of the Seattle Mariners most sellable pieces.

This is especially true when Jerry Dipoto is the general manager of your team. In fact, Dipoto has made 5 trades since the Mariners Opening Day win in Japan and many more should be expected. In fact, with the hard deadline of July 31, teams could be more aggressive than ever, so the trade market could start heating up sooner than ever.

Seattle will almost assuredly be sellers this June and July. While Dipoto may look to add controllable MLB pieces, he will still be shipping off veterans who land him a package he likes. Unless, of course, the Mariners are in a position to make the playoffs in July, which seems unlikely.

But the Mariners do have some interesting trade chips now and a few who could be interesting before July 1st. Today, we are going to attempt to rank their 5 best MLB trade chips. Not all of these names will be traded, but are included because they could fetch the strongest return for the Mariners.

Remember, these types of lists can change in an instant. Player values can act like the stock market, with values going up and down depending on outside market forces (injuries) and performance of the players themselves.

Before we dive into the Top 5, let’s mention a few other players who may find themselves traded in the coming months. Of course, Dipoto would love to find takers for Anthony Swarzak and Jay Bruce, but neither are performing particularly well and are both making enough money to make moving them difficult.

If Dipoto is able to move them, it will be for nothing more than salary relief at this point. Guys like Kyle Seager and Dee Gordon could be possibilities as well, but both are making big money with multiple years left, so they won’t be highly sought after. Gordon has a better shot at being traded than Seager.

With a few of the big names still out there, let’s begin our list with #5.

5. Edwin Encarnacion

First on our list is also the player most likely to be dealt, Mariners first base/designated hitter, Edwin Encarnacion. Acquired by Dipoto this winter, along with the 77th pick in the MLB draft, for Carlos Santana, Encarnacion was never expected to put on a Mariners uniform.

But after shopping the aging slugger, Dipoto didn’t get any offers he liked and decided to hold onto him until the market flipped in his favor. Thus far, it appears Dipoto’s gamble may have paid off. Traditionally a slow starter, Encarnacion is off to a great start, slashing .248/.381/.544 with 12 home runs in 35 games.

In addition, Encarnacion has played a lot of first base this year and has done an adequate job defensively. This could open the market for him even further. Viewed as a DH-only entering the year, Encarnacion’s ability to play a respectable first base opens him up to National League teams as well.

He is a relatively safe performer who seems like a lock to put up 30 home runs with solid ratio stats. The contract will be the biggest roadblock to finding a trade partner, but the Mariners will have no issues eating money in the right deal.

Encarnacion is slated to make $21.66 million this year and has a $5 million buyout as well. However, the Mariners reportedly told teams they would eat half of his remaining deal this winter, so we know they’ll eat money to make it work. Every day that he is on the Mariners, his monetary commitment to the team who acquires him gets lower.

So while money is an issue, it isn’t a major roadblock some might think it is. Bet on Encarnacion getting traded in the next 10 weeks and the return could actually be a solid 50-grade prospect with upside.

3. Yusei Kikuchi

No, I don’t think the Mariners will trade Kikuchi. That doesn’t mean he isn’t one of the 3 most valuable trade chips on the big league roster, so he is on this list. Kikuchi has gotten off to a great start in his first 9 starts in the big leagues, posting a 3.53 FIP and a 1.06 WHIP.

Now, these numbers are a bit misleading thanks to his last 3(including his one inning outing) starts in which he has gone 15.2 innings and allowed just 2 runs, but he has flashed legitimate #2 stuff all season.

Think about the first 9 starts of his career. He made his MLB debut in his home country of Japan in Ichiro’s final game, made his home debut against the defending world champs after his father passed, made his first career road start, battled through outings without his good stuff, and shut down two playoff teams. The poise alone is something to marvel at.

Kikuchi has shown 3 plus-pitches for an extended period this season and a changeup that has potential as well. He is young (27), being paid below market value, and has an extremely team-friendly contract structure.

With legitimate number 2 upside and a potential 7-years of club control, Kikuchi would get more than a few nibbles if Dipoto threw him onto the market. In fact, he could be the best arm available this summer.

But of course, there is no reason for that in 2019. The Mariners see Kikuchi as part of their future and his extreme team-friendly contract makes him a great fit for Seattle as the build for 2021. It is fun to think about what Kikuchi could net the Mariners and he would have tremendous value on the market.

But for the Mariners, it makes little sense to trade him, so don’t spend too much time thinking about it.

Mitch Haniger

Yeah, you can’t really talk Mariners trades and not bring up Mitch Haniger. There was a lot of speculation this winter that Haniger would be a key piece in the trade market, but Dipoto was clear from the beginning that it would take an enormous offer to pry Haniger out of the Pacific Northwest.

And by all accounts, nobody really came that close. Jason Churchill of Hero Sports stated on his Baseball Things podcast earlier this spring that he understands that the Braves were really the only team to engage on Haniger and that they weren’t willing to part ways with prospects close to MLB.

If true, it backs up everything the Mariners have repeatedly said in regards to their rebuild: we want to compete by 2021. If not, they could trade Haniger for a lot of talent that is 2 or 3 years away. But they wanted talent that was close to the big leagues.

There is no reason to expect that to change and as such, makes it unlikely Haniger will get dealt. But it only takes one team to change the entire landscape. Just ask the Pittsburgh Pirates who sent two potential All-Stars in Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows to Tampa Bay for Chris Archer.

While Haniger is off to a slow start, he has still posted a .841 OPS and a 129 OPS+. He has already been worth 1.4 bWAR, putting him on pace for another 6 win season. The 28-year-old also has 4-years of club control remaining, and will likely make less than $20 million in the next 3 years.

So if the Mariners could get the Chris Archer package, they could very well pull the trigger. But if not, they have little to no reason to move Haniger this season, as his value should remain plenty high over the winter as well.

1. Marco Gonzales

Most of you were probably expecting Mitch Haniger to be number 1 and you can make a strong argument that he should be. Ultimately, I gave the nod to Marco Gonzales because he’s younger and has 5-years of club control remaining. Oh, and he is really good.

After he broke out in 2018, posting a 4.00 ERA and a 3.43 FIP in 166.2 innings, Gonzales was out to show that it wasn’t a fluke. So far, so good. In his 9 starts, Marco has posted a 3.08 ERA, a 3.44 FIP, and a 1.25 WHIP. In short, he’s been a reliable #3 starter at just above the league minimum for the next 2 years.

In fact, if you ignore the outing against the Cubs, among the worst of his career, Gonzales would have a 2.65 ERA. In an era where fastball velocity and ungodly stuff are common, Marco shows that changing speed and throwing strikes can be wildly effective as well.

He may not miss the number of bats as others, which does hamper his value, but he also doesn’t walk guys and has 3 above-average pitches. Marco isn’t an ace so Seattle may not be able to get any 60-grade prospects.

However, a #3 starter with 5-years of club control who will likely make less than $30 million in that time has extreme value. And not just to teams who are dreaming of the playoffs in 2019. Gonzales would have near universal interest from the other 29 MLB teams.

With a market that big, Dipoto would have his choice of many offers to choose from. The Mariners do appear to have some quality starting pitching on its way the next few years as well, including Logan Gilbert, Justus Sheffield, and Justin Dunn to add to Yusei Kikuchi.

Of course, it is highly unlikely the Mariners seriously entertain offers for Marco at this time. But remember, this is not a list of who is most likely to get traded. It is a list of who currently holds the most trade value.

While a few spots are up for debate (seriously, how much do you think the Mariners could get for Omar Narvaez), this is a pretty standard list. If the Mariners want to do a massive rebuild, that option is still open to them as well.

More than likely, only one of these 5 names (Encarnacion) will be traded. But when Jerry Dipoto is your general manager, it is important to consider all the possibilities.