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Seattle Mariners: 3, One for One trades that could make sense

By Colby Patnode

TOKYO, JAPAN - MARCH 16: General view of the Seattle Mariners training during the Seattle Mariners training and press conference at the Tokyo Dome on March 16, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Masterpress/Getty Images)
TOKYO, JAPAN - MARCH 16: General view of the Seattle Mariners training during the Seattle Mariners training and press conference at the Tokyo Dome on March 16, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Masterpress/Getty Images) /
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2. Mitch Haniger for Joey Lucchesi

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – AUGUST 07: Joey Lucchesi #37 of the San Diego Padres pitches against the Seattle Mariners in the third inning during their game at T-Mobile Park on August 07, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – AUGUST 07: Joey Lucchesi #37 of the San Diego Padres pitches against the Seattle Mariners in the third inning during their game at T-Mobile Park on August 07, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Okay, I am fully willing to admit that my love for Joey Lucchesi may be clouding my judgment, but hear me out. This one makes more sense in a roster-building sense than trade 1. We have talked about the Mariners needing to clear some outfield depth and the need to add mid-rotation arms who are controllable. Well, here you go.

Lucchesi is a 26-year-old lefty who just completed his second full season in the bigs, posting a 4.18 ERA, a 4.17 FIP, an 8.69 K/9, a 3.08 BB/9, and a 47% groundball rate over 163 innings, good for a 2.1 fWAR.

Lucchesi has 4-years of club control remaining, compared to Haniger’s 3. He is in the 69th percentile of avoiding hard contact, has 2 above-average offerings and a solid average third pitch. He uses deception in his delivery and in his pitch mix to miss bats.

We have a fresh, 26-year-old arm with nearly 300 innings showing more than a strikeout per inning, a 3:1 K/BB ratio, and a 46% groundball rate. Lucchesi is, for the most part, Marco Gonzales who misses bats.

Giving up Haniger for a probable #4 could be tough, but in this deal, the Mariners would gain an extra year of club control and gain a solid rotation arm. The beauty of this deal could be that Lucchesi isn’t enough to get Haniger, but rather acts as the MLB piece Dipoto is reportedly asking for in Haniger talks.

This trade may not be perfect and likely caused a few of you to cringe. However, if it flashed across your screen tomorrow, the rationale behind it would make sense for Seattle.

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