3 ways Jerry Dipoto can save Mariners' 2026 season at trade deadline

Jerry Dipoto has built a strong reputation since taking over the helm in Seattle. He inherited a team that had been a perennial laughingstock and has turned them into a respected contender over his tenure, culminating in an ALCS appearance and Executive of the Year award in 2025.

Over the past few years, he has been quite aggressive at the trade deadline and many of the current faces on the team were acquired through moves made heading into August — Dominic Canzone, Randy Arozarena, and Luis Castillo were all picked up in this fashion.

This year, the pressure to make a big move is as high as ever. The Mariners came in as favorites to win the AL West but so far, have failed to live up to expectations. If Dipoto does work his magic again, what moves could he make to resuscitate Seattle's chance of reaching the playoffs?

How Jerry Dipoto can fix the Mariners, in 3 easy steps

Offload Luis Castillo to clear a spot for Kade Anderson

Castillo has been a topic of trade discussions all year given Seattle's surplus of starting pitching and his own personal statistical regression. With a 5.06 ERA and 4.59 FIP across 99.2 innings, 2026 is looking like the first season in his career that he will be below replacement level by rWAR (-0.7).

When one also considers that the Mariners have an elite left-handed pitching prospect stuck in the minor leagues, the urgency to ship Castillo off has never been higher. In fact, the front office is reportedly willing to shoulder some of the financial burden if that means they can get him off the roster.

One may assume that it would be difficult to find a willing buyer for someone with results as mixed as Castillo, but it's a seller's market for starting pitchers this year, so much so that even Freddy Peralta is drawing significant interest. Although unproven, Anderson has far more upside than Castillo does at this stage in his career and could be the catalyst for a turnaround. However, swapping Castillo out for Anderson would still lead to a six-man rotation, meaning Dipoto would also need to trade another starter.

Trade Emerson Hancock for a RH bat

Unlike Castillo, Hancock is having the best year of his young career. After multiple seasons of lukewarm numbers, his 3.16 ERA and 3.73 FIP have him primed to break out just in time to be valuable as a trade asset. The Mariners are taking advantage of his surge in player stock and have stated that they are open to moving him at the deadline.

While the upside of a Castillo trade would mostly be in trimming the fat, a Hancock deal would hopefully even out what's currently a lopsided roster. As per usual, Seattle's pitching staff has been outstanding while their offense has been lackluster. The return of Rob Refsnyder does technically add a much-needed right-handed bat the lineup will need far more than his 37 OPS+ to score runs.

There are plenty of teams that could use Hancock, especially since he has plenty of club control remaining, and a swap of big leaguers could be a win-win scenario for whoever the Mariners decide to do business with. If it nets a hitter like a Taylor Ward or Lane Thomas, it could be another major victory for Seattle's front office.

Take a big risk to secure Mason Miller

Despite already having a bullpen ERA of 3.52 (5th in MLB), it seems like the Mariners want their relief unit to be more imposing. The team is allegedly one of several teams expressing interest in acquiring Mason Miller. Because he has been one of the sport's best closers since arriving in San Diego, he won't come cheap but he may be worth whatever price is required.

It's clear that the Mariners have to fix their offense but if they're unable to realize internal improvements or acquire outside help, the next best thing they can do is to double down on their run prevention. Seattle's bullpen has quite a few effective arms but in the absence of Cooper Criswell and Matt Brash, there's definitely room for another elite arm, especially if it's Mason Miller. It will be a big risk and relievers are notoriously mercurial over short spans but he has been a model of consistency in an otherwise inconsistent position.

He'll be a free agent in 2030 which will drive his price up even further but luckily, few organizations have the prospect depth that Seattle possesses. The front office may be reluctant to trade away some of their best prospects but they wouldn't have contacted the Padres about Mason Miller if weren't prepared to cough up some serious assets. It may not help the team score more runs but as long as they're putting up, more than their opponents, they'll continue to climb the win column.

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