Three Potential Trade Partners for Mariners’ Jake Fraley

In the offseason following the Seattle Mariners’ solid (yet underwhelming) 2018 season, the Mariners traded starting catcher Mike Zunino to the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielders Mallex Smith and Jake Fraley. Smith was a relative disaster as a centerfielder and leadoff hitter in Seattle, but Fraley played very well in the minors and ended up being promoted to the major league team in late 2019.

Since then, Fraley, a former 2nd round pick of the Rays in the 2016 draft, has turned into an intriguing triple threat of on-base ability, speed, and power; this season, he was second on the Mariners with a .352 OBP and 10 stolen bases, and also hit nine home runs and seven doubles in a little over 200 at-bats.

As the Mariners approach an active offseason, some talented young players (such as Jake Fraley) could be traded for present contributors.

The Mariners will be presented with a logjam of talent in their outfield next season; Kyle Lewis, Jarred Kelenic, and Mitch Haniger are expected to be locks in the starting lineup, plus it’s expected the Mariners will pursue a free agent outfielder (such as Michael Conforto) to rotate with Lewis and Haniger in the DH spot. Take into consideration youngsters Julio Rodriguez, Taylor Trammell, and Fraley, and it’s clear the Mariners have the depth to make a move.

A savvy General Manager should never trade talent just to trade talent, but they should trade talent if it merits a significant return that can help a contending team get over the hump. Of the six outfielders listed above, I believe Fraley’s future with the team is the most doubtful, while still having enough talent to instigate an intriguing trade.

Due to Fraley’s youth and lack of completion of a full major league season yet, I believe rebuilding teams will be the primary suitors for Fraley’s services; with that in mind, let’s check out some of the best fits from around the league for a trade involving our favorite bearded blonde:

Richard Bleier is a pitcher I had my eye on all season long, and I was shocked he wasn’t traded at the trade deadline. A bit of a late bloomer, Bleier’s rookie season came in 2016 at age 29, then he immediately put up three solid seasons in a row as a left-handed reliever for the Yankees and Orioles. This season with the Marlins, he went 3-2 with a 2.95, and he now has a career line of 12-4 with a 2.96 ERA at age 34.

The Mariners depended primarily on Anthony Misiewicz to serve as their left-handed specialist this season (to my chagrin), but he certainly still has room to grow; his BAA and WHIP against left-handed hitters this season was .261 and 1.19, while Bleier was much more impressive with a BAA and WHIP of .211 and 0.77 against lefties. Bleier only has one more year left under team control, but he could play a big role in Seattle while they hope to contend in 2022.

The Marlins started their season with Corey Dickerson, Starling Marte, and Adam Duvall in their outfield, but ended up trading all three players during the season. Lewis Brinson, Jesus Sanchez, and Bryan De La Cruz all ended up taking their places, but Miami could be well-served to bring in another talented outfielder to join that young corps, especially with Brinson and De La Cruz both being right-handed hitters.

Two years ago, this trade would have been utterly laughable. At this time in 2019, the Washington Nationals had just won the World Series, and Victor Robles was heralded as a star in the making. However, things haven’t turned out well for Robles; he hit .220 during last year’s shortened season, then followed that up with a disastrous .203 showing in just over 100 games this season, before losing his starting spot in center field to Lane Thomas and being demoted to AAA.

The Nationals are in an incredibly strange position, where they have a perennial MVP candidate in Juan Soto, plus two very talented (and very highly paid) starting pitchers in Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin, but the rest of their roster doesn’t give them much hope to compete in the NL East.  After trading away several good players once it was clear they wouldn’t be contending in 2021, it appears Washington is interested in pulling off an “accelerated rebuild”.

Trading Robles would likely disappoint some Nationals fans who still have hope for the 24-year-old, but Lane Thomas showed enough these last few months to prove that he deserves to be the starting centerfielder (over Robles) in Washington on Opening Day; Thomas hit .270 with 7 home runs, 27 RBIs and a stellar .364 OBP in 45 games with the Nationals after being traded from the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline.

The Nationals shouldn’t be all-in on contending during the 2022 season, but they should be willing to take on players who can help them in 2022 and beyond. Yadiel Hernandez (Washington’s current starter in left field) brings a good veteran presence to the team, but he’s 34 and not a part of the team’s future; Fraley, at the ripe age of 26 and with four years of team control left on his contract, would fit the bill for what the Nationals need out of a left fielder moving forward.

As for the Mariners, they should make trades this offseason that correspond to helping the team win in the present moment, so taking on a struggling young player may not seem to make the most sense. However, Victor Robles’s defense in center field is outstanding, and Seattle doesn’t have a sure bet in Kyle Lewis or Jarred Kelenic to play center long-term; Lewis is banged up to the point of being considered a DH, and Kelenic projects more as a left fielder after a hot and cold performance in center this season cost the Mariners several runs down the stretch.

Robles’s offensive abilities may be currently limited, but his speed and decent career OBP (.317) could be an asset in the ninth spot of Seattle’s batting order next season. Also, with the Mariners’ pitching staff relying primarily on location-oriented pitchers who don’t have high strikeout numbers, elite fielding (such as what Robles could provide) will be imperative for the team.

Surround a player like Robles with exciting young talent in Seattle, such as Kelenic, Lewis, and Julio Rodriguez, and you may have a player who could benefit greatly from a change of scenery and less pressure on his shoulders to be a star.