3 small trades for hitters the Seattle Mariners should make right now

We may not know how many trades Jerry Dipoto will make in the next two weeks or how aggressive he may be in the market, but what we do know is that he will be active.

And as the days draw closer to the July 31 trading deadline, the likelihood of a deal popping up on our collective Twitter feeds increases. But not every trade is a blockbuster. Not for the Mariners or any other team. Some of Dipoto’s best deals have come in the middle of the week, starring a pair of minor leaguers or a stumbling major leaguer.

Seattle’s most glaring need, just like the 29 other teams in MLB, is pitching. And while Dipoto may take a flyer or two on some arms in the coming days, the pitching the Mariners now need would require something a bit more on a larger scale. This summer, however, may not be the most appropriate time to do so.

Whatever they wind up doing, it will be critical to the progress of their ‘step-back.’ This deadline, for better or worse, is the stepping stone Dipoto requires to set himself up for an important 2019-20 offseason. The Mariners may not be competitive in 2020, but that won’t discourage Dipoto from being aggressive in adding to his ballclub for the future. And if a trade now can potentially solidify a position of need, it’s one less thing to worry about come November.

Today, we aren’t looking at surefire blockbuster deals that will automatically cement a starting position player for years, or a pitcher of high regard. Instead, because we know Dipoto will make a deal or two of this stature, we’re going to pose three minor trades for hitters that are either blocked at the MLB level, have run out their welcome with their current organization, or are just flat-out intriguing.

Again, the Mariners are going to have to do something about third base eventually. Now Maikel Franco is a significantly more aggressive—and expensive—play at filling the need than France is, but one that could potentially speed Seattle’s timeline up if they were to get him back on track.

Even though their playoff hopes have quickly fallen by the wayside, I would be surprised if the Phillies didn’t upgrade at third base within the next couple weeks. If so, they would then be expected to turn their attention to trading Franco. They don’t absolutely have to trade Franco, as the 26-year-old carries two minor league options, but he’s already two years into arbitration and is making $5.2 million on the year. That’s quite the expensive minor leaguer to have, and one the Phillies would likely prefer to rather to do without.

Because the Phillies don’t have a legit in-house replacement at third base, Franco has spent the entire year on their 25-man and has played in nearly every game thus far. In 2016 and ’17, Franco posted similar numbers the ones we’re seeing this year, but turned things around in 2018. Obviously, that success didn’t last for very long, as Franco is back to hitting well-below the league average in most offensive categories.

There are a few things to be encouraged by, at least. For one, the power’s still there, as Franco has posted a solid .440 slugging percentage with 15 home runs. He also has the 12th lowest strikeout percentage of qualified hitters this year at just 12.1%, tied with teammate and former Mariner Jean Segura.

But while most of his offensive performance this year has been less than ideal, he’s silently having the best defensive season of his career. In 673 innings at third base, Franco has put up a +2.9 UZR—the fifth-best mark amongst all third basemen in MLB.

The problem with adding Franco, however, is where to play him. Unlike France, Franco is predominantly a third baseman with minor experience at first base and nowhere else in his professional career. Seager isn’t going anywhere, at least not until the winter, so Franco wouldn’t have the opportunity to play third on a regular basis in Seattle as the 2019 season comes to a close.

At the very least, you focus on bringing the talent in and worry about positioning later on. If he has to play first base for two months, so be it, and you figure out what to do with Seager later and whether or not you want to carry on with Franco into 2020.

This is less about the future of the Mariners and more about getting Mac Williamson the hell out of T-Mobile Park. Williamson has made a bad team even more of a chore to watch over the last month and his impending departure is way past due. But we don’t know when exactly Mitch Haniger will return, or if Braden Bishop can make it back this season, and the Mariners seem unwilling to let Jake Fraley seize an opportunity while it’s there.

By the time Haniger gets back and Fraley is deemed ready by the powers that be, it’s possible Domingo Santana and/or Mallex Smith are no longer Seattle Mariners. In the case, instead of forcing me to watch another Williamson at-bat, why not bring in a veteran outfielder who’s succeeded at the highest level but just has no place to go within his current organization?

That would be Nick Martini, who burst onto the scene last year amidst the Athletics’ historic turnaround. Martini suffered a knee injury early on in Spring Training and was shut down until the second week of May. In that time, it appears the A’s have moved on from the 29-year-old, despite his absolute destruction of the PCL over the last three months.

It’s honestly rather strange, especially considering that Stephen Piscotty just went on the Injured List and Martini wasn’t called up in his place. Martini posted a 1.3 fWAR in 55 games last year, and while he doesn’t provide significant power and is pushing 30, he’s an on-base machine with average corner outfield defense.

While Martini almost certainly would not be a part of the Mariners’ plans past 2020, they can give him an opportunity to actually play at the MLB level every day and perhaps build some future trade value for the winter. Remember, this deadline is about setting Dipoto up for an important offseason, and perhaps stealing away a quality veteran for almost nothing and capitalizing on his potential success with a chance to be back in the bigs is the kind of upside play he should be chomping at the bit to make.