Mariners aren't even hitting '54 percent' goal a week from trade deadline

After back-to-back-to-back-to-back series against four of the best teams in MLB, the Seattle Mariners are ostensibly getting a break with seven straight against sub-.500 clubs. The Angels and Athletics await in Anaheim and Sacramento, respectively.

Yet it's hard to take anything for granted with this Mariners team right now. With the 100-game threshold now two games in the rear-view and the July 31 trade deadline a week away, it feels like a .500 team in spirit even if it isn't technically one in reality.

Remember when the Mariners won nine series in a row in April and May? Those were the good times, alright, and the result was a 22-14 record. But since then they are just 32-34. And every time they seem ready to break out again, they invariably recommit to the mediocrity bit. Such was the case in their last four series, in which they bookended a 6-6 run with a sweep of the Detroit Tigers and losses in two of three to the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers.

The Mariners' winning percentage for the season is .529. It's solid, but not spectacular. Heck, it's even short of Jerry Dipoto's hallowed goal of winning 54 percent of the time in the regular season.

The Mariners' flaws are on full display ahead of Angels series

In Dipoto's defense, the whole "54 percent" thing was more of a case of bad messaging than of bad front office strategy. The idea is to aspire for sustainability, not mediocrity. And with the Mariners headed for their fifth straight winning season under his watch, it is working.

But if they didn't already, Mariners fans have every right to ask what the point of sustainability is if every year is just more of the same.

Yes, the playoff run in 2022 was a happy time that put the Mariners back on the map as a contender. But with still zero World Series appearances since the franchise's inception in 1977, championship contention should be the real goal. And this is where the Dipoto regime resembles a phony, like a LARPer overconfidently strutting onto an actual medieval battlefield.

With Cal Raleigh having a historic season alongside Julio Rodríguez and Randy Arozarena and many of the same pieces from last year's excellent pitching staff still in place, the Mariners do have most of what they need to be a proper championship contender. But where they're lacking has been as clear as day since, well, Day 1.

The Mariners remain offense-deficient at third base (.678 OPS), first base (.711 OPS) and right field (.641 OPS). They also badly need another swing-and-miss arm in the bullpen, and they've had a persistent hole in the rotation ever since George Kirby was sidelined in spring training. He's back, but subsequently also missing time were Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller, who remains on the injured list because of a bothersome bone spur in his elbow.

All of these things have taken turns biting the Mariners, and nobody is going to be able to confidently say "World Series or bust!" until a trade solves each individual problem. To this end, it'll do for now that signs point to Dipoto getting the message.

“They absolutely want to add to this team,” Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports said on Bump and Stacy on Tuesday, “and they’re excited about the possibilities they have at the deadline.”

In the meantime, perhaps the best outcome for the next seven days involves the Mariners playing well against the Angels and A's, but not so well that the front office gets the wrong idea and sticks to what has felt like an "Eh, good enough" approach all season. It may help that the Angels are no pushover, as they've indeed maintained quite well amid a 23-21 run since June 2.

Though the trade market will remain fluid, there's nothing nebulous about who fans are hoping to see in Mariners threads come August 1. Old friend Eugenio Suárez is rightfully atop Seattle's wish list, according to Adam Jude of The Seattle Times. Josh Naylor would also be nice, and maybe even Zac Gallen, too. Jarren Duran and Mason Miller are longer shots, but not impossible ones.

The hope either way is that fans are down to their last week of watching this iteration of the 2025 Mariners. It hasn't been all bad. Honestly, it's been fun more often than not. And yet, something better can and should go in its place.

Game Times and Probable Pitchers for Mariners vs. Angels, July 24-27

• Thursday, July 24 at 6:38 p.m. PT: Logan Evans vs. Yusei Kikuchi
• Friday, July 25 at 6:38 p.m. PT: Bryan Woo vs. José Soriano
• Saturday, July 26 at 6:38 p.m. PT: George Kirby vs. Tyler Anderson
• Sunday, July 27 at 1:07 p.m. PT: Logan Gilbert vs. Kyle Hendricks