Kyle Seager: What a Mariners trade to the Mets could look like

The Mariners are likely going to be sellers at the trade deadline. After a hot start, the team fell flat and sits a few games below .500, more in line with what preseason win expectations had them at. Some of the teams’ veterans are going to be involved in trade rumors, and the one I want to look at today is Kyle Seager.

I don’t want to look at trades with multiple teams, and least not for right now. I’m going to focus on one team in particular, in large part due to the rumors that have been surrounding the involved parties showing that there actually may be real interest. If it sounds like they are interested, it makes for a great time to check out what kind of deals would be possible. Or, at least, getting an idea of perceived value.

We’ve already examined some of the White Sox and Mariners rumors surrounding Mitch Haniger. I’ll admit, I went a bit hard at the guys at SouthSide and what they put together, using the values over at baseballtradevalues.com. It made for a bit of fun, but they do not value Seager at all. This is a bit perplexing to me. Yes, he has a decent salary. You could argue he is overpaid (I don’t). He is on pace for a WAR around 4.0-5.0 this year and is playing above-average defense.

You put him into a lineup with teammates that are hitting better than .200, and he is going to be even better. If the Mariners were to trade Seager, the haul would in no way be similar to what the team could get for Haniger. Mitch is younger, more dynamic, and cheaper.

They could still get a bit of value for Seager though, especially if they ate some of his salary. This is exactly what I think would happen. So, let’s take a look at some trades the Mariners and Mets could do for Kyle Seager. Something to take note of… I’m throwing in money on each of these to offset value. Also, Seager could decide not to change his salary into a player option, a stipulation in his contract if traded. If either of these changes, his value greatly changes as well.