Seattle Mariners Trade a Day: Another OF to the Phillies?

We continue our Seattle Mariners Trade a Day series by asking a simple question: could Seattle and the Phillies team up for another trade?

I’m sure guys remember the last trade the Mariners and Phillies made. You know, the one where everybody was convinced Jay Bruce was suddenly worth anything and was angry that GM Jerry Dipoto got anything for Bruce?

But today is not about rehashing old debates. Today is about starting a new one; could the Seattle Mariners send Domingo Santana to the Phillies as well?

Things have changed quickly since the Bruce trade. The Phillies have lost Andrew McCutchen and Odubel Herrera and are currently using an outfield of Bruce-Kingery-Harper. For a team that is 4.5 games back in the NL East and just 1 game back of a Wild Card spot, this is less than ideal.

Kingery and Bruce have been hot, but 3 holes will develop in their games, and as any Mariners fan will tell you, Bruce will go through long streaks of being more or less worthless. The Phillies need another OF and the Mariners have a young, controllable one to give.

Santana is just 26-years-old and isn’t a free agent until after the 2021 season. Offensively, Santana is having a solid season, slashing .279/.340/.492 with 16 home runs, 55 RBI, and 5 steals.

Because of his age and controllable, the Dipoto and Seattle are in no rush to move Santana, but if the right deal comes along, they can strongly consider it. Seattle has quality depth in the OF of their minor league ranks, which helps cushion the blow.

Now, Santana certainly has his warts. He strikes out 29% of his PAs. And his defense has been awful in 2019. What is odd about this is that in 2018 he was an above-average defender. In 2017, he was mediocre, but still much better than in 2019. So what gives? Santana still has the footspeed he did last year. He is just 26 so a decline this swiftly may be something that can be fixed.

That is for the Phillies to decide, but it does put a slight damper on Santana’s overall trade value. But he is still a young, controllable, above-average everyday bat. Santana may be one of the 10 best pure bats actually on the market this summer, so the Mariners should get a nice package for him.

And if they don’t, they can just hang onto him. But this is a trade a day article, so you know we have a package in mind. Here is our proposal:

So in order to get a little more, the Mariners would help fill 2 holes in the Phillies 25 man roster: the outfield and bullpen. While Mariners fans are quick to dismiss Cory Gearrin, he has been rock solid in his last 26 relief appearances, allowing 6 runs in 22.1 innings with 26 strikeouts.

For the duo, the Mariners land former top prospect Nick Williams, young left-handed starter Kyle Young, and RHP Connor Seabold. Williams has 800 PAs at the big league level and while he has struggled in 2019, he is controllable through the 2023 season.

In 2018 Williams slashed .256/.324/.425 with 17 home runs in 140 games. He is, in all likelihood, just a 4th outfielder now, but there is still some upside left and the Phillies will likely be willing to deal him in the right deal.

Prospect wise, the Mariners land 2 decent, but not spectacular prospects. Young is a prototypical “soft-tossing lefty” with average stuff but plus command. Young can throw his fastball, changeup, and slider for a strike in any count and can locate it out of the zone for swing and misses.

The fastball plays up thanks to his 6’10” frame and he has walked just 1 batter in 22 innings in A+ ball while striking out 25. Sounds very Dipoto”y” to me. In Seabold, the Mariners would get the right-handed version of Young.

Seabold throws strikes, has average stuff, and relies on guile and outsmarting hitters to get outs. Both pitchers should be relatively quick to the big leagues and each carries a ceiling of a #4 starter. However, as we discussed regarding Jake Fraley, prospects like Young and Seabold change their profile all the time.

So if the Mariners see something in either of the arms or Nick Williams swing for that matter, they should strongly consider a deal like this. But the beauty of shopping a player like Santana is simple: if you don’t like the offers, you keep your player.