The only 5 Mariners who are untouchable in trade talks

This season the Mariners are in limbo. They are heading into a tough to manage season where they could go into August as competitors, or they could go into August with 50 wins.

What has been clear however is that the limbo that they are in has created a situation where GM Jerry Dipoto will make trades where the Mariners are sellers, as long as there is great value like the Austin Nola trade.

So, as the Mariners head into 2021 they could start turning those “sellers” style trades for great value into “buyers” style trades for great value. If that is the case there are only 5 players currently on the MLB roster who should absolutely be untouchable in any trade talks this winter and this season.

THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE PROSPECTS. Obviously, guys like Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez are untouchable as well but this is just players on the MLB roster currently.

So who are the Mariners’ untouchable players currently on the MLB roster?

Kyle Lewis

Duh.

Obviously, Kyle Lewis will not be going anywhere anytime soon. The 2020 AL Rookie of the Year had a .364 OBP, a 126 OPS+ and an xwOBA in the 67th percentile of MLB hitters. He also had a WAR of 1.7 in just 58 games played last season.

Lewis played almost every single game last season in centerfield, and it was the only position that he played in the field as the games he didn’t play in center he was the DH or came in as a pinch hitter. With the prospects the Mariners have like Jarred Kelenic, center might not even be Lewis’ home for long, but Seattle will be Lewis’ home city for many years to come.

Marco Gonzales

Marco Gonzales is clearly going nowhere. There has been some buzz on Twitter over the last year that Gonzales could be a trade piece but the Mariners front office is making it quite clear that they want Marco to be a part of the rebuild as well.

Before the 2020 season, the Mariners signed Marco to an extension to keep him in Seattle 2 years longer than his team control at 4 years $30 million with a 1 year $15 million team option in 2025. He rewarded Seattle by giving them the best year of his career with a 3.10 ERA and a 3.32 FIP in 11 starts during the shortened 2020 season.

Because of his team-friendly contract, Gonzales will definitely draw some interest from competing teams but the Mariners giving of that contract is a clear signal that they don’t want Gonzales going anywhere.

It would take an offer bigger than the one Seattle received for Austin Nola for them to even think about moving Gonzales but even then I still see them saying he is off the table. Fellow Sodo Mojo writer Ryota Nishino wrote a blog about what the Mariners return could be for Gonzales based on Baseball Trade Values evaluation of Marco’s value and it is quite a lot. It might even make you think it could be worth it if a desperate competing team comes calling at the trade deadline. Yet still, I repeat, Seattle is not letting Gonzales go.

Justus Sheffield

Justus Sheffield would not have been on this list 6 or 7 months ago but after his encouraging 2020 season, he will not be talked about in any trade discussions. Sheffield only would be brought up in trade talks where the Mariners acquire a star player but even when another team asks if he is available in those negotiations Seattle should say no.

Sheffield has a chance to be a mainstay in this rotation with Gonzales along with the slew of pitching prospects that the Mariners have coming up. Justus started 10 games in 2020 and had a 3.58 ERA and an excellent 3.17 FIP. He had a rough and inconsistent start to the season but had an excellent September when he started 4 games (2 against playoff teams) and only allowed 6 runs in 25 innings.

What was also interesting about Sheffield’s 2020 was that according to Baseball Savant he abandoned his 4 seam fastball in favor of a sinker. He also had consistent control but tended to throw his pitches (Sinker, slider, changeup) in the same spots, so if he can work on his control painting the black more in different spots he could become an ace.

The Mariners have 5 more years of team control on Sheffield and are 2 years away from even hitting arbitration. While we don’t know if it will be a 6 or 5 man rotation in the future, we know that Sheffield will be a part of it.

Evan White

While Evan White is the final player on this list because I believe he can become a Mariners Hall of Famer, he might also not be able to be traded with his contract. Seattle signed white to a deal before he ever played a game in the majors, signing for 6 years $24 million, plus 3 years and $33.5 million in team options.

After White’s horrible offensive season his rookie year in 2020, where he had a batting line of .176/.252/.346, and with his contract, he won’t be talked about in trades. But I don’t think Seattle would want to give up on him yet either, even if it means they could acquire a star player. Just like Crawford, White won a Gold Glove in 2020 and it will certainly be the first of many.

If White can just have a slightly above average offense during his career, with a reasonable expectation of a batting line of .245/.340/.445  (.785 OPS) during his prime from 2023-2026, because of his 5+ Gold Gloves (Knock on wood) he will be a Mariners Hall of Famer if he retires in Seattle.

White will most likely not be remembered for his offense, but because of his glove that makes every Mariners infielder better, he needs to be kept around and I’m sure that he will be.