Mariners Rumors: Trading with Diamondbacks for Merrill Kelly

Trade 3: Mariners send out pitching for Merrill Kelly

Of all three trades, this is the one that I could most likely see happening. That is if Justus Sheffield is cleared and healthy by the trade deadline. Or, if Arizona passes him through his physical and is accepting of what they find.

With Rinehart, you are getting a great bullpen arm. He doesn’t throw heat or have a wipeout pitch either. Instead, you are getting a righty with great control. He still gets up to 95 or so, but has three secondary pitches he can throw. I think of him as an old-school reliever brought into the modern-day.

His change-up might be his best pitch, as that and the fastball both grade as plus pitches. He mixes in a slider and curve to keep hitters off balance. The control is what stands out, as he can locate the change-up very well.

If Sheffield gets healthy, it could be a great pickup for Arizona. In fact, we could look back in a couple of years and see that the Mariners lost this trade. That’s the rub though, and what makes trades like this happen. Sheffield could easily end up being either the best piece in the trade or the worst.

Pitching really does seem like what the Mariners are going to go for at the deadline. They could use another starter, and Arizona seems to be one of the teams that fits the description of having a cheap, low-risk veteran, while also looking to sell. If the Mariners need another arm, Merrill Kelly could definitely be in the cards at the deadline.