Mariners fans should check their Willson Contreras trade dreams after Derby display

With only one member of the team present in Philadelphia for the All-Star festivities, all Seattle Mariners fans can do this week is engage in a little window shopping for the trade deadline. And on Monday, it was almost possible to ignore the obvious about Willson Contreras.

See the display he put on at the Home Run Derby? It was spectacular. Even if he lost to former Chicago Cubs teammate Kyle Schwarber in the semifinals, Contreras spent the night yucking it up with a hostile crowd at Citizens Bank Park and, oh yeah, launching tank after tank after tank.

That's the good stuff right there. And after the first half that Seattle had, in the back of our rotted minds was the notion that maybe we were watching a future Mariner in action.

Alas, something akin to a record scratch happened a couple hours earlier during media availability. Contreras was asked about his experience playing for the Boston Red Sox, and to say that he was effusive would be putting it mildly. Courtesy of the Section 10 Podcast:

“Just leave me here. I want to stay here," he said. That's pretty definitive, and it matters.

The Red Sox absorbed the last two years of Contreras' five-year, $85.5 million contract when they got him from the St. Louis Cardinals, and that includes a full no-trade clause for the rest of this year. Even if Seattle were to come calling, he'd have the right to say no.

There's also whether the Red Sox would even talk to the Mariners about Willson Contreras

Meanwhile, anyone else notice that the Red Sox are kinda hot right now?

As recently as June 24, they were 14 games under .500 and 15.5 games out of first place in the AL East. They have since won 14 out of 16, riding a nine-game win streak into the All-Star break. They're 0.5 games off the pace set by the Mariners for the AL's third wild card spot.

That doesn't look like a likely seller at the August 3 trade deadline, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic went as far as to say there's "no chance" of Boston going in that direction:

Things can change, of course, but the Red Sox can take the position that they can only change for the better. They have made it this far despite a series of devastating injuries, so they can rightfully hope that their best days lie ahead if they can get Garrett Crochet, Roman Anthony, Trevor Story and more stars back for the stretch run.

It's a darn shame for the Mariners. It's no secret how badly they need a right-handed hitter, and Contreras is one of the best in the game right now. Until further notice, though, the Mariners should probably take him off their trade deadline big board.

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