Seattle Mariners: 5 bold trade ideas for this offseason

Seattle acquires Lance Lynn and Joey Gallo from the tanking division rival Texas Rangers

Rumors about Lance Lynn being traded have been going on 2 years now, and in his final year with a team that is clearly rebuilding Texas has to move him soon. Lynn has finished in the top 6 in Cy Young voting the last two years so his value will be high, but for a desperate team trying to trade him with only one year left on his contract they might have to compromise.

Joey Gallo saw his stock plummet last year as he finished with a .181 batting average, but he saved some of his value by winning the AL Gold Glove in right field. Gallo still does have a lot of trade value as he has two years of arbitration remaining and in his 3 most recent seasons had 113 home runs and a .842 OPS.

A Mariners trade for Lynn and Gallo could be perfect as neither should require a top prospect and they could fill the temporary (As in helping the Mariners compete now while we wait for the top prospects to come up) needs in Seattle of a starting pitcher and a power-hitting outfielder who can hit both righties and lefties.

All three of the players heading to Texas make perfect sense for the team’s rebuild and I have already discussed all of them in prior trade ideas. The two big pieces of the trade are Trammell and Kirby who should both be ready for the majors soon.

Trammell will most likely get there sooner than Kirby, and it might be midseason next year if he performs well in AAA. Tramell would be treated as a corner outfielder of the future for the Rangers. Fraley has potential as well to be a staple in their outfield and would be on their opening day roster for 2021, but more likely on the bench rather than in the field.

The other piece in this deal is George Kirby who could be the best player in the deal. Kirby was the Mariners 1st round pick in 2019 and has ace potential, and I, along with many others, project him to be a top half of the rotation pitcher.