Mariners can't simply shrug off reboot of Logan Gilbert offseason trade buzz

The Seattle Mariners' season isn't over yet, but even they have turned their attention more toward 2027. So now that some oldie-but-goodie trade buzz concerning Logan Gilbert has come around, it just hits differently. Maybe they should trade him.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com has a fresh list of offseason trade candidates out, and Gilbert's name is on it. His reasoning plays all the hits. The 29-year-old righty is a pending free agent after 2027. The Mariners have a rotation surplus. An extension doesn't seem forthcoming. Yada yada, though not in a dismissive way.

There might have been some forward momentum on an extension between Gilbert and the Mariners once upon a time, but it seemed to stall out after the organization responded to his rough 2025 season by driving a harder bargain. He's at least stayed healthy this year, but the 3.23 ERA and league-best marks for innings (208.2) and WHIP (0.887) that he posted in 2024 look increasingly like one-off markers of a true No. 1 starter.

It all fits into bigger change in the winds for Seattle's pitching staff. As recently as early August, there were rumors about George Kirby or Emerson Hancock possibly following Luis Castillo out the door. Though they stayed, it's only meant bearing witness to the continued downfall of pitching as the Mariners' defining strength.

So, you know. Turning and turning in the widening gyre and all that. It really does feel like it's time for Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander to shake things up. And if they are going to trade a starter, Gilbert fits perfectly into the middle ground between "Sell high!" and "Sell now!"

What could the Mariners reasonably expect to get back for Logan Gilbert?

That Gilbert is only one year from free agency is a complication, but literally not a deal-breaker. Just ask the Milwaukee Brewers, who have traded Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta before their respective walk years just within the last three years.

The comparison between Gilbert and Peralta is especially apt. This is Gilbert's age-29 season, just as last year was Peralta's age-29 season before the Brewers shipped him to the New York Mets. Peralta had more experience at the time, but Gilbert has him beat in rWAR, starts and innings through the same point in their careers.

In exchange for Peralta and throw-in Tobias Myers, the Brewers got back Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat. Both were top-five prospects for the Mets, amounting to a $44.7 million haul in surplus value.

Whereas Peralta was set to make $8 million in 2026, Gilbert is already earning $10.93 million with another arbitration raise looming in 2027. Yet the Mariners would not be jerking other teams around if they demanded, say, a plug-and-play third baseman or outfielder with multiple years of team control in exchange for Gilbert.

This message is meant for the Baltimore Orioles. Or, maybe it's meant for the Chicago Cubs. Or even the Mets if they want to go down the Peralta route again. Either way, it's a message the Mariners need to send to somebody this winter.

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