5 Chicago Cubs players that the Seattle Mariners should inquire about

The Chicago Cubs are willing to move almost any veteran on their roster. What players should the Seattle Mariners pursue?

According to MLB Trade Rumors, the Chicago Cubs are open to shaking up its roster and unloading some veterans. The Cubs are in an interesting spot because former Cubs President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein resigned days after the rumors of trading away veterans surfaced. Chicago also finished first in the National League Central, so it is not like the team is currently in the process of rebuilding. But, the organization is moving towards a “state of transition.”  As the Seattle Mariners look to finish the rebuild process soon, could the Mariners land some experienced Cubs players?

Seattle Mariners general manager and Vice-President of Baseball Operations has done an incredible job of accumulating young talent. The rebuild process has decreased the Mariners’ salary significantly since Dipoto took over, allowing the team to sign and trade for expensive talent. With that being said, the Mariners now have the leverage to turn young prospects into star players, and the Cubs could be a great team to work with.

There are five Chicago Cubs players that would make sense for Dipoto and the Seattle Mariners. Acquiring some of these players would require a significant overhaul but it could be worth it. As unlikely as some of these trades may seem, I do not think it is too far off from reality.

The Seattle Mariners should trade for the Cy Young finalist Yu Darvish of the Chicago Cubs

Yu Darvish had another impressive season in his eight-year career in the MLB. Darvish finished second in NL Cy Young voting this past season. Darvish has been in Cy Young conversations in his first two seasons in the MLB. He finished ninth in his 2012 rookie season, and second again in 2013. I don’t think I need to do any more explaining about Darvish’s talent, so let’s get right into why I think the Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto should explore trading for him.

One of the main reasons why Darvish is even in this conversation is that he will most likely be available for trade, especially since his value is near its peak after his 2020 performance. The Cubs are looking to transition and break its core that was once successful and Darvish does have a large contract that the Cubs might want to shed. He signed a six-year deal for $126 million in 2018, which makes him a free-agent in 2024.

Darvish does have a limited trade clause as part of his current contract and has 12-teams listed. We do not know which teams Darvish has listed, but I think the Mariners might be on it for a few reasons. One, almost exactly a year ago, Yu Darvish published a YouTube video talking about Mariners pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. The title of the video was called “I Want to save Yusei Kikuchi.” The video is in Japanese, so you need to know Japanese like me or read the subtitles to know the contents. There is also a great translation I found of the video.

But, to sum it up, Darvish talked about Kikuchi’s struggles and tried to flip the narrative where Kikuchi did pretty well in his first season. Darvish tried to take the positives out of Kikuchi’s struggles, and that says a lot about Darvish’s character. He has been known as a great teammate and personality that people have enjoyed. This video surfaced in 2019, so maybe he has an interest in working with Kikuchi and the Mariners.

My second reason is that Darvish was a huge advocate for the six-man rotation. In 2014 Darvish was very vocal and pushed the Rangers organization to implement a six-man rotation to provide more rest days for starting pitchers. Yu Darvish is from Japan and has had injuries of his own so he knows the risks of five-man rotations in the USA. Japanese pitchers are accustomed to six-man rotations and that switch sometimes leads to overwork and a difficult adjustment, like many thought about Kikuchi.

Scott Servais and Jerry Dipoto are considering using a six-man rotation again this season, which might be a major influence on Darvish. Lastly, Seattle is just very attractive to Japanese baseball players. One of the reasons why is the distance to Japan. Some people don’t realize, Seattle is a Japanese tourist destination in the United States because it is closer than flying to the East Coast like New York. I think this is a big reason why the Marines have been able to attract so much Japanese talent over the years.

Starting with Kazuhiro Sasaki, Ichiro Suzuki, Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Kenji Johjima, Munenori Kawasaki, and Hisashi Iwakuma. I honestly would not be surprised if I forgot to name a Japanese Mariners player on this list. Seattle is extremely attractive to Japanese ballplayers and that is another reason why I think Darvish has Seattle on his trade list. All of these reasons lead me to believe that Darvish might like the Mariners, and it works for Jerry Dipoto because we need another ace-like pitcher.

Marco Gonzales has been amazing, but I still do not have full confidence in saying he can lead the Mariners onto a postseason run. Adding Yu Darvish on top of Gonzales would be quite the combo though. Trading for Darvish would also not be a rental because his contract does not end till 2024. This is perfectly based on our prospect projections because, by 2022 and 2023, our prospects should be firing at all cylinders. Darvish seems like the most ideal trade chip from the Cubs, but the Mariners would have to give quite a bit of prospect in return, and Seattle needs to be on the trade list.

The Seattle Mariners should trade for the Chicago Cubs Gold Glove shortstop Javier Baez

I am a huge advocate for Jerry Dipoto going after DJ LeMahieu in free-agency, but there will be a very tough competition like shoppers at a Black Friday sale. But one thing I know for sure is the Seattle Mariners need an upgrade at second base. After LeMahieu, there are not any wowing names on the free-agent market, but I have my eyes set on Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez.

Why does Baez make sense? Based on what I saw in 2020, the Mariners lacked pop in the lineup. And what would you know, Seattle only hit 60 home runs, which is in the bottom five in the league. The most home runs were hit by the Dodgers (118), and the least among of home runs came from the Cardinals (51). The Mariners were also 22nd in RBIs in the league and 23rd in runs per game. These are some concerning stats, and these will hopefully go up as some young stars are added into the lineup like Jarred Kelenic.

So, when the Seattle Mariners try to fill the second base void, why not go for a star like Javier Baez? You are probably thinking that the Mariners still have Dylan Moore and Ty France, and yes you are correct. But, I rather have them as a role player, utility, bench option. France and Moore played well, but their ceiling is not nearly as high as Baez who led the league in RBIs in 2018. Baez struggled really badly in 2020, but his offensive numbers have been getting better and better since he entered the league as a highly-touted prospect. In 2020, he posted a .203/ .238/ .360 and eight home runs.

I am hoping 2020 was just an outlier because he is capable of putting up big power numbers while also stealing bases and playing great defense. He just won his first Gold Glove at shortstop but he has a history of playing other positions. With the Cubs, he has played third and second base. When the Cubs won the World Series in 2016, Baez played 62 games at third, and 59 games at second during the regular season. He would fit perfectly into our second base void.

With his most recent performance, he also might be a little more affordable than a player like Francisco Lindor. I see Baez as a slightly lower option than Lindor and both are in similar contract situations. Lindor makes more money, but he will require a much more significant contract deal once he hits free agency. Both Baez and Lindor have one more year of arbitration eligibility and will be free-agents in 2021. So whether the Mariners go for a player like Baez or Lindor, it is not worth going for them if Jerry Dipoto is not confident in signing them to extensions.

Baez would be much more affordable than Lindor and that is why I like a Baez trade. Again, Baez would be a second baseman so J.P. Crawford would not have to be traded away. Maybe Jerry Dipoto gives them a pitching prospect or Taylor Trammell for Baez, which is reasonable in my mind.

The Seattle Mariners should go after two-time All-Star Willson Contreras

Another interesting idea is going after the Chicago Cubs catcher, Willson Contreras. He is another core Chicago Cubs player and he might be a trade chip if the Cubs follow through with the transition they have mentioned. Contreras has played five seasons and been an All-Star twice. Contreras has been one of the better offensive catchers in the MLB and his defense is not that shabby either.

Contreras will be entering his second of three arbitration-eligible years. He signed a $4.5 million contract in January to avoid arbitration, so that tells you a little about how affordable he is. Contreras is 28-years-old and will probably be expecting a long-term extension soon enough, but he will not be asking for Buster Posey like numbers. Posey is currently the most expensive catcher and earns about $22 million per year.

I would expect Contreras to be in the $15 million per year range if he has another good season. That would put him in between Yasmani Grandal and Salvador Perez, which seems just about right. Again, Jerry Dipoto would need confidence that Contreras can be a long term option for the Mariners because the team does have some catchers already on the roster. The Mariners currently have Tom Murphy, Luis Torrens, and Cal Raleigh in the minors. It might make sense to trade Cal Raleigh or Luis Torrens and another prospect for Contreras.

Contreras could become the everyday starter, and if Murphy plays wells or is showing promise, he could be another trade piece like Austin Nola was. And that way, the young Torrens or Raleigh could slot in as a backup and look to be the long term catcher after Contreras. The Cubs are looking to move on from some of its core players, and if Contreras is one of them, he should be highly considered because he would be an upgrade for the current Seattle Mariners catchers.

The Chicago Cubs still have Craig Kimbrel, which could help the Seattle Mariners bullpen

The Chicago Cubs still have a seven-time All-Star closer in Craig Kimbrel, and I do not think he will be in a Cubs uniform in 2021. Similar to Yu Darvish and Javier Baez, Kimbrel does not need much of an introduction. He was the Rookie of the Year in 2011, multiple top 10 Cy Young voting finishes, and a World Series with the Boston Red Sox from 2018. The only bad thing about Kimbrel is his 2019 and 2020 numbers.

The past two MLB seasons after joining the Cubs in June of 2019 has been a shock for many people who remember Kimbrel as a dominant closer. He still has a career 2.17 ERA, and 348 saves over 11 seasons in the MLB. Kimbrel is another big contract for the Cubs that might be worth shedding during this offseason. The Cubs owe him roughly $16 million in 2021 and is signed until 2022. Kimbrel is the third most expensive relief pitcher in the MLB going into 2021.

Jerry Dipoto mentioned at the beginning of the offseason that the bullpen will be a big focus for him in the offseason. There is an abundance of veteran relief pitchers on the free-agent market: Liam Hendriks, Shane Greene, Blake Treinen, or Keone Kela are just some examples. Although the supply of relief pitchers is surprisingly good this offseason, examining a Craig Kimbrel trade is worth it because his value might be at the lowest.

Kimbrel is 32-years-old and will turn 33 next May. It is not like Kimbrel has lost his velocity either, which he has relied on so heavily in his career. He has a 97.3 mph average fastball in 2020, and his career average is 97.7 mph according to Fan Graphs. In 2019 and 2020, the opposing barrel percentage was at a career-high during 2019 and 2020 which is very concerning.

In 2019, it was 17.3%, while in 2020, it was 18.5%. In 2015 for example, his barrel percentage was just 4.7%. Another glaring stat is his walk per nine innings ratio. Kimbrel has always struggled with control but in 2019, it was 5.2 walks per nine. And in 2020, a whopping 7.0 walks per nine. During his prime, his walk rate was in the 3.0 area.

Kimbrel may be a major risk for Jerry Dipoto and the Seattle Mariners, but if the Cubs are not asking for very much in return, it could be a high risk – high reward type of trade. Although Kimbrel’s recent performances have been terrible, it might be worth a flyer for the Mariners who are close to becoming a contending team. The Mariners have room because they have been rebuilding and dropped the salary mightily over the years. If Kimbrel is healthy and can find his old ways, this could be another Jerry Dipoto win.