Grading Seattle Mariners Trade Proposals from Fans, Pt. 2

Number 3

Alright, so we wrap up part 2 with our first Omar Narvaez trade offer. But unlike the first two offers in part 2, this is more of a buying move than a selling move. But before we breakdown what the Mariners would give up, let’s look at what they’d be getting.

Trey Mancini will enter his age-28 season in 2020 and is coming off a career season for the lowly Baltimore Orioles. In 2019, he hit .291/.364/.535 with 35 home runs, 97 RBI, and 38 doubles, good for a 132 wRC+.

Unfortunately, Mancini is, at best, a poor defensive outfielder who doesn’t provide any value on the bases. These factors helped lower his value in 2019 but he still put up a solid 3.4 fWAR.

On the flip side, Omar Narvaez is also a poor defender and base-runner with an above-average bat who is entering his age-28 season. Wait, that sounds familiar. And in fact, Narvaez and Mancini are pretty similar players.

Mancini is probably a better hitter but Narvaez plays a more premium position. Honestly, I don’t know that it makes much sense for these two to be traded for each other. Neither team desperately needs to fill the position they’d be trading for and for the Orioles, having a homegrown player shine in a rebuild likely makes him more valuable to the Orioles than anybody else.

Now, the rest of the trade offer addresses this but also tips the scales too far, in my opinion. Sam Carlson has legitimate, number 2 upside and is still just 21-years-old. When healthy, he could have the best raw stuff in the organization.

Trading him now is selling at his absolute lowest and the upgrade of Mancini from Narvaez isn’t worth it. Mancini just isn’t a fit for the current roster, as the Mariners are loaded up on corner outfield prospects and appear set to hand the first base job to Evan White at some point in early-2020.

I like this proposal because it isn’t a straight rebuilding offer, not is it exactly a straight buy with prospects. Big leaguer for big leaguer trades are often overlooked, especially two as similar as Narvaez and Mancini, and this is a good reminder that trades can come in all shapes and sizes.