Jon Morosi's Riley Greene trade pitch is exactly the thinking the Mariners need

Assuming he keeps his job, Jerry Dipoto has a daunting task ahead of him this offseason. He needs to find someone to manage the Seattle Mariners, and then he'll need to address a no good, very bad offense that stands to lose its best hitter.

Even if Randy Arozarena's 148 OPS+ and 5.5 rWAR represent the peak of his ability, he's going to leave a sizable hole when he files for free agency. Positive regressions by Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez and Josh Naylor in 2027 would go a long way toward filling it, but that shouldn't change Dipoto's mindset. If he can't re-sign Arozarena, he must replace him.

A case for a spirited effort to re-sign Arozarena does exist, but might be moot. Word is he prefers the East Coast, and there's already speculation that a team like the Boston Red Sox might back up a Brinks truck for him.

The Mariners will have in-house options to replace Arozarena in left field, including Brendan Donovan and Michael Arroyo. Actually going that way, though, would only reinforce this year's sentiment that Dipoto and owner John Stanton are not serious about winning. You can't just replace a 25-25 star like Arozarena with a couple of warm bodies and trust everything will work out. At the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious, the goal should be to improve on this year's 28th-ranked offense.

This is why our ears perked up when Jon Morosi of MLB Network dropped two potential trade targets in his latest spot on "Wyman and Bob" of Seattle Sports: Tyler Soderstrom and Riley Greene.

The Mariners have the goods and the incentive to inquire about Riley Greene

There are only so many good left fielders out there, and Soderstrom and Greene are two that match or even exceed the level of quality the Mariners are used to with Arozarena. That especially goes for Greene, who fares well in a head-to-head comparison to Arozarena for the last three seasons.

Further, Greene is Arozarena's junior by six years and is still finding ways to improve. After hitting a career-high 36 home runs in 2025, he's pivoted more toward consistency in 2026. And he's found it, notably by way of a .371 OBP and an .816 OPS vs. lefties that both represent shiny new career bests.

For the Detroit Tigers, Greene represents a former No. 5 overall pick who has become a cornerstone player. It isn't easy to trade guys like that… but it's worth Dipoto's time to ask Scott Harris anyway. Greene is only two years from free agency, and the Tigers need new weapons for a rotation that lost Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize this season.

Since he's also eligible for free agency after 2028, perhaps the Mariners could offer a deal based around George Kirby. Could him plus a top prospect -- say, Arroyo, Felnin Celesten or Jonny Farmelo -- get a deal done? At the least, that concept could at least start a conversation.

Soderstrom wouldn't be a bad get either, even if he is Riley Greene Lite. He has a 122 OPS+ and 44 home runs to show for his last two seasons with the A's. He only turns 25 on November 24, and this was the first year of a five-year, $35.43 million contract that should prove to be club-friendly.

The best argument against Greene and Soderstrom is that either would mean replacing Arozarena's right-handed bat with a left-handed one. Good righty hitters are in short supply, and the Mariners got punished by lefty pitchers this season even with Arozarena.

Yet after a year like the one the Mariners just had, we come down on the side of beggars can't be choosers. Any stone Dipoto leaves unturned this winter will automatically be a missed opportunity.

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