My list to Santa: 3 unrealistic trades as a Seattle Mariners fan

Dear Santa, please make these three trades happen. From a Seattle Mariners fan

Nothing like asking Santa Claus for a little help to bolster the Seattle Mariners roster! With the Mariners starting to come out of its rebuild, we have seen a lot of promise from some of our young players. This also means that the team will not be big spenders until it is the right time.

But, there is no harm in pondering some big trades this offseason. The Seattle Mariners have a lot of young talent, which means they can leverage that depth to acquire solid players in the future. Again, I don’t think Jerry Dipoto will be leveraging the young talent this offseason, but let’s take a look.

Wish No. 1 – The Seattle Mariners acquire Nolan Arenado

Nolan Arenado’s name has come up quite often in trade talks during 2020. The Rockies standout third baseman agreed to an 8-year deal in 2019, and is owed a lot of money. Colorado has not been very successful while Nolan has been with the team, which is why his name has come up.

You’d expect that any team would want to keep Arenado, but the Rockies are not in a very good situation and may be better off unloading his large contract for young talent. You could compare this situation to when Jerry Dipoto decided to trade Robinson Cano and his large contract away to a team that was willing to pay, and attempting to compete. The Rockies are also on the bottom of the farm system rankings which does not help with future success.

So what would a trade for Arenado look like? Well, I can tell you that some of you won’t be happy with who the Mariners are giving up in these examples, but Arenado is just that good.

Trade idea No. 1

Does it seem like we would be giving up too much? Yes, I sort of think so but it’s Nolan Arenado we’re talking about. The Mariners would be able to keep Arenado for a long time and would solidify third base. In return, I am thinking that the Rockies would want someone to fill the position in the meantime, so Ty France makes sense.

France also has some upside as a decently young player so there is value there. And then the Mariners would need to let go of two of their top prospects: Julio Rodriguez and George Kirby. I also threw in Juan Then as an additional piece for the Rockies. They do not have many pitching prospects at the top of their list, so this should be a nice subtle return for them.

Trade idea No. 2

The second idea might be way over the top, but just imagine what the Seattle Mariners could do with Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story. The Mariners might need to throw in another prospect on top of the four Mariners players, but I am only allowed to list four for the image above.

I think this is self-explanatory in terms of what we give up. Jerry Dipoto sends two younger shortstops and some of the best prospects in the system. The Mariners unfortunately would have to give up at least Julio Rodriguez or Jarred Kelenic for the teams to be even having a conversation.

But the Rockies get a really good return with two outstanding pitching prospects, a Gold Glove shortstop, and one of the brightest minor league bats in the league. You may be wondering why Trevor Story, but he has also been in trade rumors because he is a free-agent next offseason.

Like I said before, the Rockies might be hitting the refresh button pretty soon. Arenado and Story might be sent away, so these could be some pretty cool trades. But again, I am dreaming and asking for Santa’s help. Let’s look at my second player that is on my imaginary wish list…