Seattle Mariners: A perfect trade for both sides with the Chicago Cubs

A trade that accomplishes what both the Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners want for their futures

The Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs are going in completely opposite directions. Seattle is in a postseason drought that goes all the way back to 2001 and has maneuvered their way into a masterful rebuild that should see them competing in a few years.

Chicago however, is coming off of the high of their 2016 World Series victory and 5 playoff appearances in 6 years and is now looking to blow it up and rebuild. They have already started that rebuild with a trade of Yu Darvish to the Padres along with rumors of other stars being traded like Kris Bryant.

So now with the Mariners and Cubs going in opposite directions, here is a trade that Jerry Dipoto should explore.

Rowan Wick is a potential bullpen star based on his last two seasons with Chicago. His career got off to a rocky start in the minors, starting as a catcher, then moving to the outfield before settling in as a pitcher in the Cardinals system.

With the Cubs, his third organization, he had an outstanding second and third season in the majors. Wick has thrown 50.2 innings the last two seasons on 50 appearances and has a 2.66 ERA during that span.

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He also has an outstanding 2.77 FIP, 1 HR allowed, 167 ERA+, and 55 K’s with the Cubs. His average fastball velocity dipped from 95.8 in 2019 to 94.9 in 2020 but his production did not fall off as he had another outstanding season. Part of that could have been his curveball spin rate going from 62nd percentile among MLB pitchers in 2019 to 74th percentile in 2020 while it had the same average velocity both seasons.

Wick is 28 and is under team control through 2025 as he won’t hit arbitration for another two years, meaning 5 years of team control for the Mariners.

It is clear that Chicago is looking to rebuild for the far future as in their trade of Yu Darvish to the Padres they acquired 4 prospects with ages of 17, 18, and 20 meaning none of the players acquired will be MLB ready for years. So, the Mariners trade the Cubs two 19-year-old prospects.

The big piece of this deal is Connor Phillips, Seattle’s 13th ranked prospect. Phillips was just drafted as the Mariners comp round B pick in the 2020 MLB draft and fellow writer here at Sodo Mojo Ryota Nishino has a more in-depth breakdown of Phillips that you can read by clicking here.

Milkar Perez is the Mariners’ 29th ranked prospect according to Prospects Live. In his only minor league action as a 17-year-old, he played in 64 games in the Dominican Summer League and had a .769 OPS. On the 20/80 scale, Prospects live rates his hitting a 40, power a 50, and his arm a 60.

What do you think about this potential trade? Let us know in the comments or Tweet at us @SodoMojoFS.