Trading Kyle Lewis Because of His Knee History
Another trade option that people will not be fond of is trading Kyle Lewis. Just like the Chris Flexen trade, the Mariners have depth in the outfield. With Jered Kelenic already up and Baseball’s Number Two prospect Julio Rodriguez expected to arrive this summer, those two will slot in alongside Mitch Haniger, making the Mariners pretty strong in the outfield. If needed, the Mariners can always go sign a player to fill in until Julio arrives.
With this potential trade option, the Mariners would get DJ Herz, a hard-throwing lefty. Herz is soon to be a 21-year-old pitcher, who last pitched for the Cubs A+ ball club. During his 2021 season, Herz tossed 81.2 innings while striking out 131 batters and held a 3.31 ERA. He would be a nice addition to a loaded pitching farm system because you can never have too many pitchers.
As for the Cubs, they would get last year’s Rookie of the Year winner. Lewis is coming off another knee injury and there is reason to worry about it and on the other hand, Madrigal is also coming off a torn hamstring that ended his season early. So both have injury concerns that they are trying to come back from but they are both young with the potential for full recoveries.