How 'aggressive' could Mariners have been with Gavin Lux trade after Reds got him for nothing?

After it was announced that the Dodgers would be the new home for free agent Hyeseong Kim (to the dismay of many Seattle Mariners fans), Los Angeles wasted little time clearing a roster spot for him by designating Diego Cartaya for assignment. Then, they traded Gavin Lux to the Reds to free up infield reps.

Normally, this would be business as usual for the savvy big market team, but this particular deal raises a big question for Seattle fans. If the Mariners were "aggressively" pursuing a trade that would've brought Lux to the PNW, how in the world was the winning bid an outfield prospect and a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick?

The Reds prospect being packaged away is Mike Sirota, their third-round pick and 87th overall selection of the 2024 MLB Draft. It's also worth noting the Dodgers drafted him in 2021, but he opted to play college ball. He had a college career at Northeastern University and has 60-grade speed, giving him the chance to be an outstanding center fielder. While he has strong upside, he's unproven at the professional level and scouts have expressed some concern about his lack of power. He's by no means a generational prospect akin to Jackson Chourio or Bryce Harper, so surely the Mariners could've put more value on the table, so why didn't they?

The most likely answer is that the front office wasn't as enthusiastic about Lux as people originally thought. Lux is a servicable starter but hardly someone you'd want to build an offseason around. Across the board, he's right around league-average. Last year, he posted a 101 OPS+ over 487 plate appearances and -2 Defensive Runs Saved. He still posted 2.1 rWAR, but that likely wasn't enough to warrant a bigger offer from the front office. Dylan Moore had slightly better offensive and defensive numbers while splitting time between far more positions in the field.

When one also considers how strongly Dipoto reportedly feels about the current foundation of the team, it makes sense that Seattle wasn't quite as thrilled about getting a deal done at the cost of meaningful prospect equity.

So what's next for this team? If recent rumors are to be believed, not much. With spring training now just over a month away, the Mariners are running out of meaningful infield options. Can the team make do with a combination of Dylan Moore, Austin Shenton, and Leo Rivas in the infield? On paper, the current outlook seems grim, but last year's team had its own fair share of players that exceeded expectations, most notably Victor Robles.

Optimism aside, the front office should still be very much on the lookout for infield upgrades if they are sincere about wanting to be a serious competitor in 2025.