ESPN insider throws cold water on Mariners fans' trade hopes

We're fewer than 20 games into the 2025 season, but Seattle Mariners fans already seem disappointed with the way things have been going.

Although the team is playing .500 baseball and is only two games behind the Texas Rangers for the AL West lead, the roster has been anything but convincing. Despite an incredible homestand where they looked great against the Rangers and Houston Astros, they promptly returned to their inconsistent ways and are maintaining a negative run differential overall.

The front office has remained active in bouncing players between Triple-A and the majors, yet some think that it may be time to look elsewhere for help. The Mariners have been a recurring subject of trade discussions, especially when it comes to potentially moving one of their starting pitchers. However, at least one insider is pumping the breaks on these rumors.

Jeff Passan believes it's far too early in the season for the Mariners to seriously consider any trades

In a conversation with Brock & Salk on Seattle Sports 710, ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan talked about the rumors of a possible Luis Castillo trade as well as rumblings of the team signing free agent J.D. Martinez.

He noted that it was still far too early in the season for serious trade negotiations, since players' performances are subject to change significantly from now until the end of the year. The return haul of prospects or big league position players for Castillo could give the Mariners the few extra wins, a few extra losses, or something in between. Specific players the front office is targeting could struggle to adapt their offensive approach to work at T-Mobile Park, an all too common outcome for sluggers that have signed with the team previously.

On the topic of Martinez, Passan seemed skeptical that signing him would make sense for Seattle. He argued that in cases where the full-time designated hitter posts numbers similar to Shohei Ohtani or Brent Rooker, it's a valuable addition to the roster. Otherwise, it takes DH opportunities away from others.

Seattle already has five players on the designated hitter depth chart, making it a very crowded picture. Additionally, despite his disappointing output, Mitch Garver was technically brought on board to primarily be a DH, further exacerbating the logjam. If the organization was guaranteed to get the Martinez of 2018, then he would be undoubtedly impactful. But given his age and recently lukewarm numbers, it's likely not a worthwhile move at this time.

Of course, all of this will likely change the closer we get to the trade deadline. As the season trudges on and playoff probabilities become more accurate, Seattle will have a better idea of what they need to do to play October baseball this year. They may be just a few small pieces away from the postseason or they could be in need of a total rebuild.

Either way, we'll have to wait for the next few months of games to pan out before any major transactions go down.