Identifying 3 midseason trade targets to boost Mariners' 2025 campaign

The trade deadline for the 2025 MLB season is still months away, yet it isn't too soon to speculate on what problems the Seattle Mariners could encounter and where they might turn for solutions.

With this in mind, we've pinpointed three players the Mariners could hypothetically trade for this summer. All three are realistic picks to be available come July. It is likewise realistic that each would turn a question mark into an exclamation point upon arriving in Seattle.

Before we get into it, one important note is that the Mariners can only be expected to raise payroll by so much as the 2025 season rolls along. Only they know what their budget is, of course, but payroll is already up (h/t FanGraphs) and spending isn't exactly a theme in Seattle right now.

Second Base Target: Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays only have a 35.5 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs, and the Mariners know that the Rays won't hesitate to cash in trade chips if they're out of the race. Such is how Randy Arozarena came to be roaming left field for Seattle.

Now set to earn $10.5 million in the final guaranteed year of a seven-year, $34 million deal, Lowe boasts a career 125 OPS+ and has hit exactly 21 home runs in each of the last two seasons. While the 30-year-old isn't a keen defender, he can play the outfield corners in addition to the keystone.

Though Ryan Bliss seems to have the inside track, Mariners fans will know that second base is a position without a clear starter. If it eventually becomes a revolving door, that will be president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto's cue to give the Rays a call.

First Base/DH Target: Yandy Díaz, Tampa Bay Rays

Yup, it's another standout Rays hitter. And even more so than Lowe, Mariners fan have been wishing after this one for a while now.

Díaz is a .288 hitter for his career, with an elite bat-to-ball skill which would have been very welcome on a Mariners offense that led MLB in strikeouts in 2024. The 33-year-old will earn $10 million in the final guaranteed year of a three-year, $24 million pact.

The Mariners could turn to Díaz if neither Mitch Haniger nor Mitch Garver gets the job done at designated hitter, which would unfortunately be a repeat of 2024. He would otherwise fit as a platoon option for Luke Raley at first base and perhaps for Jorge Polanco at third. Though Díaz hits everyone well, he especially crushes lefties to the tune of a .895 OPS.

Right Field Insurance: Wilyer Abreu, Boston Red Sox

Contrary to the Rays, the Red Sox might be the favorite to win the AL East now that the New York Yankees are decimated with injuries. But with Jarren Duran in left, Ceddanne Rafaela in center and top prospect Anthony Roman pounding on the door to right, the team is staring down an outfield logjam.

Abreu may come to be the odd man out of said logjam, though that would be through no fault of his own. The 25-year-old was a Gold Glover last year and posted a .825 OPS against right-handed pitching.

It's worth eyeing right field as potentially needing an upgrade because Victor Robles is no sure thing. He was a star in a 77-game run with the Mariners, in the process earning himself a two-year extension. Yet he was a flameout with the Washington Nationals before all that, and some of his metrics from last year don't portend another excellent season in 2025.