3 Summer Trade Targets for Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto

Spring Training is just 5 days away from officially starting. Mariners pitchers and catchers will report on February 12th. But just because it’s still winter, doesn’t mean we can’t look forward to the Summer.

The 2020 Seattle Mariners are probably not going to be a good team. I think we can all accept that and for the people who have been paying attention, they’ll know it is all a part of the plan. The goal for Seattle and GM Jerry Dipoto was never to have a good record in 2020.

However, time and time again, Dipoto and the Mariners have circled 2021 as the year they would like to start competing again. But the team has a long way to go to get there and the team did very little in the way of bringing in talent outside of the organization to get there.

But Dipoto doubled down a bit in his pre-Spring Training press conference, saying that he anticipates his team being very interesting in the Summer and winter, comparing his timeline to that of the White Sox.

Of course, the White Sox have been one of the busiest teams this winter, shelling out large contracts to Yasmany Grandal and Dallas Keuchel, while also adding veterans Edwin Encarnacion and Steve Cishek on short-term deals, and giving top prospect Luis Roberts an MLB contract before his debut.

So if Dipoto believes his team is set up like the 2019 White Sox, we should expect a busy 2020 off-season. But remember, Dipoto actually pointed to the summer in his statement. This could lead to the idea that some of the Mariners’ top prospects like Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert could be called up. But it may also hint at the expected activity at the trade deadline.

Remember, Dipoto says he wants to compete in 2021. With that aggressive of a timeline, you can’t rely on getting everything you need to be done in one winter. And since Dipoto did nothing in terms of adding proven MLB players this winter, it seems like he’ll need to be aggressive this summer too.

While it is unusual for a non-contending team to be aggressive buyers at the deadline, we have seen it more recently. Perhaps the best example of this is the Cincinnati Reds who finished last season with a 75-87 record but traded top prospect Taylor Trammel and Scott Moss in a 3-team deal for Trevor Bauer. The Reds are now solidly considered serious wild card contenders and could challenge for the NL Central title.

This is the type of deal Dipoto could consider this summer. The player would have to be controllable through at least 2021 and the cost cannot be astronomical. It could be a tough needle to thread, but Dipoto does not lack the creativity or conviction to get such a deal done.

With all that in mind, here are 5 potential trade targets for the Mariners this July.

2. Jameson Taillon, RHP Pittsburgh Pirates

Well, the Pirates can call it building instead of rebuilding all they want, but they have a sub-$50 million payroll in 2020 and a mediocre farm system. They aren’t making the playoffs anytime soon and Jameson Taillon can’t even help them this year.

Taillon will be tricky for any inquiring team to evaluate because he is going to miss some time in 2020 working his way back from his second Tommy John surgery. For the Mariners, this means that he will basically be useable in 2021 and 2022 before becoming a free agent.

Like Gray, Taillon is a former Top 5 pick who has been a successful mid-rotation arm who has flashed better but hasn’t quite lived up to expectations. Taillon lacks the strikeout potential of Gray, but still possed a 95 MPH fastball prior to his elbow issue and a wicked curveball.

Taillon offers a deeper repertoire, throwing a 4 pitch mix compared to Gray’s 2 pitch mix. Taillon is also quite good at getting groundballs, posting a 48% groundball rate for his career. He isn’t a major swing and miss type of arm, but has a solid 8.09 K/9 rate in his career, along with a very good 2.26 BB/9 stat.

What type of stuff and command Taillon will show coming off his second TJ surgery will be a bit of an unknown, but the high floor of a #3 starter when healthy is going to be appealing to a lot of teams. He still has the advantage of youth and will spend all of 2020 as a 28-year-old.

Pittsburgh would likely prefer a package of prospects with the focus of being ready 3-4 years down the line and Seattle has a couple of guys who fit that mold. But Seattle’s assets in trade talks will weigh heavily to near MLB ready types.

Taillon is a tough price tag to figure, but his high floor and still decent upside makes him an interesting option for teams going forward.

1. Josh Bell, 1B Pittsburgh Pirates

Well, we didn’t have to go far to find our next player. And look, I get it. The Mariners just signed Evan White and have all but anointed him the first baseman of the future. But White has the athleticism to play in the outfield regularly and Josh Bell is a really good hitter.

We like Evan White. We think he will be a good player. But we know Josh Bell can hit. Now, can he repeat his insane 2019 season in which he slashed .277/.367/.569 with 37 home runs? Maybe not. But he doesn’t need to.

Bell has been a poster child of the Mariners mantra of “control the zone” in his big league career, boasting an insane 12.1% BB rate and well below-league average 18.2% K rate. He is a career 118 wRC+ hitter and is just 27-years-old.

Bell won’t become a free agent until after the 2022 season and would immediately become the Mariners’ best hitter upon arrival. Bell isn’t a flashy defender at first, or even good for that matter, so getting more PAs at DH could help his value.

Bell is going to be expensive for any team looking to acquire him. I’m not even certain Dipoto could do it without giving up one of their “big 3”. And if that is the case, Bell probably isn’t going to be an option.

But Bell could very well be worth a Noelvi Marte or Logan Gilbert type of centerpiece, especially if he shows over the first part of 2020 that his 2019 season was a true breakout and not just a career season.

Bell is a tricky fit, both positionally and acquisition cost-wise. But for a bat as potent as his, it may just be worth it. Bell could be the number 4 hitter in a good Mariners lineup that leads them to the playoffs for the first time in 2 decades. And if Seattle believes this could be the case, they shouldn’t leave much off the table in trade talks.

Obviously, there are dozens of more names we can discuss and dozens of more will be added throughout the season. But these are just 3 names that fit the profile and may be available this summer. We aren’t done addressing this topic, but consider this list a pre-appetizer on the road to what could be an eventful trade deadline for Jerry Dipoto and the Seattle Mariners.