Mariners Rumors: Cardinals open to trading Carlos Martinez, young outfielders

As Jerry Dipoto looks to continue building his roster of the future, an opportunity to bring back a familiar face has suddenly presented itself.

Despite their current position as the sixth worst team in Major League Baseball, the Mariners will be both buyers and sellers over the next 15 days. To complete their rebuild in the relatively short amount of time they’ve given themselves to the public, they’ll have to be aggressive and a bit lucky, both of which Dipoto has been for most of his tenure with Seattle.

While the most prominent strength of the Mariners’ rebuild has been the great outfield depth throughout every level of their organization, it shouldn’t shy them away from adding more talent to the group. Not only does it continue to increase their chances of solidifying their outfield of the future, but it also makes it that much easier to trade from that depth later on.

As reported by MLB Trade Rumors, via The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the St. Louis Cardinals are considering the idea of trading one or two of their struggling young outfielders, namely prospect Lane Thomas and former Mariner Tyler O’Neill. Rosenthal also mentioned 27-year-old right-handed pitcher Carlos Martinez as a potential trade piece as well, but more on that later.

As for the outfielders, a reunion with O’Neill would be the most ideal option for the Mariners. We know O’Neill is going to strike out at an extraordinary rate, but in his limited action at the MLB level this year, he’s been able to hit for average and get on base at a fairly normal rate. The defense isn’t spectacular, but it’s worlds better than what Domingo Santana currently offers them while O’Neill maintains a similar power profile.

It’s possible the Cardinals would like to package O’Neill in a larger deal to land themselves a quality major leaguer (wink wink, Santana or Mitch Haniger), as he alone likely isn’t netting St. Louis that much of a return at this point. Either way, the Mariners should and most likely will be involved in the discussions.

The Martinez news is also really interesting in regards to the Mariners. At some point, Seattle is going to address their pitching staff down the line. We’ve toyed around with the idea of a potential Noah Syndergaard trade this year or a Gerrit Cole signing during the offseason, but Martinez may actually make the most sense of the three and is interesting of multiple fronts.

Rotator cuff issues put Martinez’s life as a starting pitcher on hold, with the Cardinals solely using the 27-year-old out of the bullpen this year to limit his innings and the stress on his shoulder. Through 20.2 innings pitched, Martinez has posted a 2.18 ERA with five saves and a K-BB% of 18.8.

Martinez won’t come cheap both contractually and from a trade compensation standpoint. Right now, Martinez is making $11.5 million with two more years at the same number, as well as two club options for 2022 and ’23 at $17 and $18 million apiece. By the time Martinez is guaranteed free agency, he’ll be just 31-years-old.

He fits in the Mariners’ timeline, but the risk surrounding his shoulder and the trade package it would take to get him may turn them and many other teams off from the idea. Seattle will have to take risks to potentially compete within the next two-to-three years, however, and Dipoto has rarely ever wavered in the face of risk. And that risk could be greatly paid off if Martinez eventually returns to the rotation.

If you’re buying Martinez, you’re banking on that happening. And if it doesn’t, you may still wind up with your closer of the future or, at the very least, a high-leverage reliever. With the Mariners seemingly going all-in on 2021 and beyond, they’re going to shovel out money and prospects to enhance their bullpen. So even if worse case scenario were to arise—which, in this case, would be Martinez sticking to the bullpen—it’s a move that will need to be made at some point and shouldn’t matter if it happens two years before you contend or right up to that point, especially with Martinez being under club control through 2023.