A huge bit of bad news lurks beneath Mariners' successful trade deadline

Pending anything else happening between now and 3 p.m. PT on this Thursday, the Seattle Mariners have already had an extremely successful 2025 trade deadline. The additions of Eugenio Suárez, Caleb Ferguson and Josh Naylor have undoubtedly made this a stronger team, and one that is more than capable of making a run at the first ever World Series appearance in franchise history.

At the risk of being what Brock Huard would call a Debbie Downer, though, this trade deadline could have been even more successful for the Mariners, and realistically so. You only have to consider all of the available information surrounding closer Jhoan Durán to contend that he could, and maybe should, have ended up in Seattle.

Mariners were right there to the end with Jhoan Durán

Durán was known to be the Mariners' top bullpen target in the lead-up to Thursday's trade deadline. Noting multiple industry sources with knowledge of the situation, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reported that the M's were in deep negotiations throughout Wednesday afternoon with the Minnesota Twins about acquiring their star closer.

These negotiations went on until the very end just before Durán was finally traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, in exchange for catcher Eduardo Tait and right-handed pitcher Mick Abel. Where this became more interesting (and frustrating) from an M's fans perspective is when you consider that according to MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects list, Tait and Abel were ranked 56th and 92nd respectively.

Kramer went on to note that the Twins' demand for a couple of top 100 prospects had proven to be a sticking point in negotiations with all interested clubs, including the Mariners. As much as you have to commend Jerry Dipoto and the rest of the front office for being able to acquire Suárez, Ferguson and Naylor without giving up any of their eight top 100 MLB prospects, there still has to be at least some sense of what could have been?

Jhoan Durán worthy of the price of two top 100 prospects

When it comes to Durán, his resume is extremely enticing, with a fastball which averages 100.2 mph, 16 saves in 18 opportunities, a 2.01 ERA, 2.48 FIP and a 2.3 WAR which projects to surpass 3.0 and be the best of his four years in the majors. On top of everything else the righty is under club control through 2027. (It's worth reiterating at this point that Ferguson will become an unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of the 2025 season.)

Place Durán alongside Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz, as well as Gabe Speier and Eduard Bazardo when required, and suddenly the Mariners bullpen looks unbeatable as one of the best group of relievers in all of Major League Baseball. As much as Ferguson does represent an upgrade, the Mariners could have quite easily beaten the Phillies' package of Tait and Abel, and really should have given that this was the year ownership truly decided to go all-in at the trade deadline.