Flailing Red Sox might just provide the trade deadline salvation Mariners need

The 2025 Mariners were seven games over .500 after 35 games, yet they still needed the trade deadline to fortify their contention run. As they are now three games under .500 at the same point, it's fair to hope that the 2026 Mariners will attack the deadline even harder.

If so, the positive spin you can put on the situation is that the season seems headed toward a buyer's market. There are a bunch of bad teams that weren't supposed to be bad, which could mean we're in for some fire sales. And nobody needs one like the Boston Red Sox.

As vibes go, they are basically the anti-Eugenio Suárez in 2026. They've already fired their manager, and it hasn't done diddly to right the ship amid a 13-21 start. And now, they have teammates openly trading barbs.

Yeah, sucks to be them. But assuming their own contention chances don't fall apart, there may be an opportunity brewing here for the Mariners. Their front office and Boston's front office have had multiple iterations of trade talks in the recent past, and some of the Red Sox's potential trade chips could be perfect targets ahead of the August 3 trade deadline.

These 3 Red Sox should already be on the Mariners' radar for trades

1B Willson Contreras

No, the Mariners don't need a first baseman. That's Josh Naylor's spot, and he's been doing just fine since he broke out with a two-homer game back on April 13.

What the Mariners do need, though, is more right-handed thump. They rank 24th with a .296 wOBA from the right side of the dish, with a .621 OPS against left-handers. So far this season, Contreras has a .390 wOBA and a .975 OPS against lefties.

Beyond the fact that the Mariners would have to slot Contreras into everyday DH duty, it's the financials that complicate a potential trade for the 33-year-old. He's owed $18 million this year and $18.5 million in 2027, and only $8 million is on the St. Louis Cardinals' tab.

RF Wilyer Abreu

Remember when Luke Raley was off to a hot start? This has, alas, become a "remember when" situation more recently. He's 2-for-30 over his last 14 games, helping to drop the overall WAR for right field below replacement level.

Save for Roman Anthony, Wilyer Abreu figures to be the most difficult outfielder to pry loose from Boston's current rotation. But there's a reason for that, as his Gold Glove-winning defense and 20-homer power give him a higher floor than Jarren Duran or Ceddanne Rafaela.

Because Abreu, 26, also has club control through 2029, the Mariners would only be able to get him if they offered a king's ransom. If not Kade Anderson or Ryan Sloan, we're probably talking Lazaro Montes and/or Michael Arroyo.

LHP Aroldis Chapman

From its 3.20 ERA, maybe you believe the Mariners truly have the third-best bullpen in the league. But this is how ERA can lie about bullpens. Even with a healthy Matt Brash, the pen was light on strikeouts and generally not good for the team's win probability.

For his part, this would not be Aroldis Chapman's first rodeo as a trade deadline piece. He's even been something of a good-luck charm in the past, as he played on World Series-winning teams after midseason trades in 2016 and 2023. And even now, at 38 years old, he's better than ever. He has a 1.13 ERA and 0.736 WHIP in 78 games with Boston.

The lefty is making $13.3 million, which is on the hefty side for a reliever. But if the Mariners want to disaster-proof their bullpen, it would be a cost worth absorbing for the sake of adding Chapman as a setup man (and possible insurance) for Andrés Muñoz.

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