Seattle Mariners: 3 Young Outfield Trade Targets

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 07: Phillip Ervin #27 of the Cincinnati Reds during the game against the New York Mets at Citi Field on August 7, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 07: Phillip Ervin #27 of the Cincinnati Reds during the game against the New York Mets at Citi Field on August 7, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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CINCINNATI, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 21: Phillip Ervin #6 of the Cincinnati Reds shatters his bat as he hits a single during a game against the New York Mets at Great American Ball Park on September 21, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Bryan Woolston/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 21: Phillip Ervin #6 of the Cincinnati Reds shatters his bat as he hits a single during a game against the New York Mets at Great American Ball Park on September 21, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Bryan Woolston/Getty Images)

PHILLIP ERVIN, OF, CINCINNATI REDS

Between Josh VanMeter, Aristides Aquino, and Phillip Ervin, this article could have been a full sweep of Cincinnati Reds outfielders. But the one I landed on was Ervin, who falls on the latter side of his 20s but still has five cheap years of club control. Ervin appeared in 94 games for the Reds and started 63 of them, slashing .271/.331/.466 with seven home runs and 23 RBIs.

Ervin has average tools across the board that should continue to translate to solid fourth or fifth outfielder numbers on a good roster. He would be a strong supplementary option if the Mariners were to move on from one of their younger depth pieces this offseason, or an even stronger platoon piece with someone like Jake Fraley given that he hit .349 versus lefties this past season.

If the Reds are serious about adding an All-Star caliber outfielder to the mix, then Ervin feels like the odd-man-out. If the Mariners were to be the ones to supply said All-Star caliber outfielder, Ervin would be an ideal secondary or tertiary piece in a bigger package.

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