Trade 3 – An underpay for Ketel Marte
This is probably not going to happen, but if it did I would be ecstatic. Marte is still young and affordable, not to mention he is a star. Coming away from this deal by not giving away any of the top six prospects in the Mariners organization is probably going to be considered an underpay by the industry.
We have already talked about Brandon Williamson, but Connor Phillips is another high upside arm the Mariners have. He is very young and has struggled a bit at Modesto this year. The upside is tremendous, with great late life on an upper 90s fastball.
Although people may not be as familiar with Phillips as they are with others in the Mariners farm system, he is still a great prospect. He comes in around 9/10 in most places that you look, and would likely fall around 6/7 in most teams prospect rankings.
This deal allows the Diamondbacks to stock up their farm and lets the Mariners trade from their greatest strength. The Diamondbacks should probably trade Ketel Marte, but they likely won’t. They continue to say that Marte will not be traded, but his fit on this Mariner ballclub is undeniable. I for one would welcome him back in Seattle with open arms.