3 Mariners who could be trade bait after Jerry Dipoto put his cards on the table

It's been a strange season for the Mariners, with them having a decidedly average 47-46 record and yet only sitting one game back of the second AL seed. The M's are not playing close to their potential and yet remain in contention thanks to the AL being so underwhelming. As a result, they will be buyers ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline, but there is the question of what their approach will be.

There has been some speculation the Mariners won't be as aggressive as last year, and yet the needs of a quality reliever and right-handed bat who can hit lefties are undeniable. In any event, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has indicated the crowded playoff picture will result in more buyer-to-buyer deals, alluding to having to give up MLB talent:

ESPN's Jeff Passan reacted to Dipoto's comment on Tuesday, during an appearance on Seattle Sports with Brock Huard and Mike Salk. The MLB insider found it interesting due to buyer-buyer trades being extremely hard to execute at the deadline, because "there has to be a perfect fit positionally, and there has to be depth there to backfill."

Passan was effectively saying it would be difficult to find teams with enough incentive to trade with the Mariners. This is a fair observation, and does present some challenges. However, if this is the approach Dipoto is considering taking, we know well enough by now that he's more than capable of working some magic.

3 MLB-level players the Mariners might be prepared to move at the trade deadline

Luis Castillo

They say you can never have too much starting pitching, but it's possible the Mariners actually do, with a six-man rotation and top pitching prospects Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan waiting in the wings. In an ideal world the M's would prefer to trade Luis Castillo, thanks to the combination of his age, salary and declining productivity.

Of course this isn't an ideal world, with that same combination likely giving teams plenty of reason to stay away from Castillo. What does help though, is that he actually benefitted from the Mariners' short-lived but controversial piggyback strategy:

There are of course many ways which numbers can be manipulated to support any argument, but overall, Castillo has been pitching a lot better of late. Sure, he isn't the same All-Star-level pitcher as a few years ago, but he's still a quality starter who could help a playoff contender struggling for rotation options.

Luke Raley

Passan made it clear he doesn't foresee the Mariners moving any of their position players, if it is a case of trading away any MLB talent. However, if they were going to go down this route, he suggested maybe Luke Raley or Dominic Canzone.

In fairness to Passan, he made these comments before the announcement that the Mariners have removed the platoon label from Canzone and made his a full-time player in the lineup. Still, we would have chosen Raley to be traded anyway, due to his teammate being a better bat.

This is not a dig at Raley though, who was a productive player for the Mariners prior to his injury issues last year and started this season very well, batting .280 with a .932 OPS and 163 wRC+ through the end of May. His bat has dropped off since, but he remains a versatile player with good speed and arm strength who is under club control through 2028, which could entice someone.

Jhonny Pereda

Okay, we appreciate this is stretching the "MLB" label a bit here, but at the same time, Jhonny Pereda might be too good to languish in Triple-A. Certainly, in his short time with the M's organization he has quickly developed into a fan favorite.

Sure, a .689 OPS and 98 OPS+ in 19 games for the Mariners doesn't exactly jump out from the page, but it's the intangibles which have helped Pereda look the part in Seattle. As former MLB consulting scout Joe Doyle said back in May, the 30-year-old does a lot of things which don't show up on a spreadsheet.

In any event, whether it be a heads-up play on the basepaths, a key home run to give his team the lead, or just his overall work ethic, Pereda has shown enough promise in limited opportunities for the Mariners. And as much as you'd hate to see him leave Seattle, he deserves the chance for more playing time at the Major League level.

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