Seattle Mariners: 5 prospects who could be traded this offseason

Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto is known for making trades. But as he now looks to help the team compete, will he start trading prospects for stars? If he does, here are the 5 guys most likely to be in deals this winter.

It has been heavily publicized and we have mentioned it what feels like a hundred times here on Sodo Mojo, but Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto says that they will be signing players and making moves to compete in 2021. This was extremely exciting news for Mariners fans and added to last year’s encouraging performances, there is a lot to be excited about with this young Mariners group.

Dipoto has made many trades during his tenure to help the Mariners compete, but recently all of the trades have been to help the Mariners rebuild. However, as the team looks to compete for next year and many of the next years in the future, how will they get there?

Obviously, the three young award winners, Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis as well as Gold Glovers Evan White and JP Crawford, are exciting players with bright futures. Seattle also has pitching prospects like Justus Sheffield and Logan Gilbert, and hitting prospects Jarred Kelenic and Taylor Trammell.

While all of these players will help the Mariners compete now, there are also a handful more like George Kirby and Julio Rodriguez who will be up in a few years and could be future award winners as well.

But if the Mariners are to compete now, they are certainly going to make trades involving prospects. So, who could be included in these trades? There are players who are undoubtedly untouchable like Kelenic and Rodriguez, but there are also 5 guys who for different reasons could be more likely to be out the door if the opportunity to acquire a quality MLB player arises.

Justin Dunn

Justin Dunn came to Seattle in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz/Jarred Kelenic trade. At the time Dunn looked like he could be the centerpiece of the return that the Mariners got, as he was the highest-ranked pitching prospect in the Mets system and was more MLB ready than Kelenic. However, Kelenic has totally taken that from Dunn as he is now a top ten prospect for all of the MLB.

Dunn has performed well so far in his major league career. In two shortened seasons due to the COVID pandemic as well as making his debut in September of 2019, Dunn has a 4.13 ERA in 14 games started and had two 6 inning shutouts in August of this year.

The problem for Dunn, and the reason he could be on the trade block, is when you get deeper into the analytics it’s not pretty. He has a horrible Baseball Savant page that has his best statistic as xBA, where he is only in the 44th percentile compared to other MLB pitchers. Dunn also has a career 6.44 FIP, which is well over his ERA. Another reason he could be on the block is the depth of pitching prospects the Mariners have, which could force Dunn into a bullpen role if he stays with Seattle.

Jake Fraley

Just like Justin Dunn, Jake Fraley came over in one of the trades in 2018 that sent the Mariners into their current rebuild. Fraley came over from the Rays in the Mike Zunino trade and was outstanding in his first year in the Mariners system.

He had never played above single-A in the Rays system, but in AA and AAA in 2019 Fraley hit a combined .298 with 19 home runs, a .910 OPS, in 427 plate appearances across the two leagues. This earned Fraley a callup to the majors in 2019 where he was disappointing. In 41 plate appearances, Fraley hit .150 with a .371 OPS, and in just 12 games played he had a -0.4 defensive WAR.

He was called up again in 2020 but in just 7 games he had a .511 OPS. Fraley can clearly hit in the minors and has some power, so he has the potential to figure it out in the majors. However, he might be best suited for a change of scenery and somewhere where he could play regularly in the lineup.

The Mariners outfield currently, and in the future, is too crowded for Fraley to fit into the equation, so he could be the odd man out and be on the move if the Mariners were to make a trade with a team that Fraley could play regularly for. He’s just 25 years old and is the Mariners 9th ranked prospect on MLB.com, so he could be a valuable piece in a trade.

Braden Bishop

Braden Bishop falls into a very similar category as Jake Fraley as an outfielder who has not been able to hit in the majors and has also not been able to regularly get in the lineup. Bishop was drafted by the Mariners in the third round of the 2015 draft and currently is the Mariners’ 18th ranked prospect on MLB.com.

The reason he was drafted so high was for his defense as he is one of the best defensive prospects in the game, but his offense has to get better for him to be something in the majors. His MLB.com prospect rating for defense is a high 65 (20-80 scale) but in 86 plate appearances with the Mariners he has hit .128 with a .336 OPS.

His minor league stats are not horrible, as in 5 minor league seasons he has a .761 OPS. He also had an .847 OPS in 211 plate appearances along with some flashes of power with 8 home runs in AAA in 2019. So, if he could hit at a similar level in the majors he could be a starter because of his defense. But, with the Mariners young crowded outfield, it will most likely not be in Seattle.

Noelvi Marte

Marte is just 19 years old and is ranked as the Mariners #7 prospect on MLB.com. He only has one season of statistics as he was 17 in 2019 and then there was no minor league season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In that one season which was in the Dominican summer league, Marte hit .309 with 9 home runs and an .883 OPS in 299 plate appearances. His MLB.com prospect ratings are 50 for contact, 55 power, 50 fielding, and 55 arm. None of that jumps off the page but he is certainly a solid all-around prospect.

He has the potential to be a decent hitter and sold fielder and because of his good arm he could play third base if the Mariners wanted to partner him with JP Crawford on the left side of the infield. However, with JP Crawford looking like the shortstop of the future it could make sense to trade Noelvi Marte.

He is not projected to be up in the majors until at least 2023, and after losing a full season of minor league baseball it could be longer. So, if the Mariners get into a win-now mode Marte could be out of the door in favor of the present instead of the future.