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Baking the Cake: An Adjusted Mariners Offseason Plan

Trevor Pedro|
SEATTLE, WA - SEPTEMBER 23: Seattle Mariners majority owner John Stanton, left, talks with Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto before the game at Safeco Field on September 23, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. The Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners 11-4. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - SEPTEMBER 23: Seattle Mariners majority owner John Stanton, left, talks with Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto before the game at Safeco Field on September 23, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. The Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners 11-4. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images)
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ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – JUNE 21: Vidal Brujan #7 of the Tampa Bay Rays in action during the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field on June 21, 2022 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – JUNE 21: Vidal Brujan #7 of the Tampa Bay Rays in action during the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field on June 21, 2022 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Sprinkles: Mariners get some contact

The lineup currently has a lot of swing-and-miss with Julio Rodriguez, Teoscar Hernandez, Eugenio Suarez, and Cal Raleigh. There is a need for more contact, even if it is off the bench. I’d make a prospect-for-prospect trade with the Rays, who currently have a bunch of expendable middle infielders (Brujan, Mead, Walls).

I’d leverage a longstanding relationship (12 previous trades) and call our old friends in Tampa Bay and ask if they’d be willing to part with Vidal Brujan. He’s mashed in the minors last year accumulating a slash line of .292/.369/.440. He also excels at making contact (9.6 BB% – 16.7 k%). With all of that success, he’s lost his prospect shine because of struggles at MLB level over the past two seasons.

The best part of his game and this roster is the versatility to play all around the diamond and provide plus speed off the bench. The Mariners could start Brujan in Tacoma to get the CTZ approach down pat and possibly bring him up later in the year. Or he may beat out fan favorite Sam Haggerty out of Spring Training and provide switch-hitting versatility with a little more upside off the bench to compliment veteran Dylan Moore.

Sure it’s not the ‘cake’ we all envisioned when this hot stove season began. That concoction included one of the four superstar shortstops, an on-base machine who plays the outfield, and possibly some bullpen help. But this one might suffice, especially if the icing pans out.

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