Mariners have no excuse for missing boat on trade reunion with Luke Weaver

No one would call this year's trade deadline a failure for the Mariners. Not after unloading the remainder of Luis Castillo's salary and receiving an intriguing prospect as part of the return haul. Not after finding the right-handed bat they needed who can hit lefties. Jim Bowden of The Athletic gave them an overall B grade, and yet there's a sense they still could have done more and added a quality reliever.

Sure, the Mariners did get righty Seranthony Domínguez from the White Sox, which was just fine as another part of the return haul for Castillo. However, his arrival in Seattle came more with hope than expectation, on the back of an underwhelming season with a 3.99 ERA and 1.330 WHIP. And he didn't exactly endear himself to the M's faithful in his debut on Tuesday night, as he allowed four hits, two walks and four earned runs in a disastrous 0.1 innings of action versus the Tigers.

We don't anticipate Domínguez continuing to be as bad over these next two months, but his outing does still reinforce the sense the Mariners should have found another reliever prior to Monday's trade deadline. Making this worse is that a quality option was available and realistically attainable. The option in question was Luke Weaver, who previously plied his trade in the Pacific Northwest for a little while towards the end of the 2023 season.

Luke Weaver would have been more than just some consolation prize for Mason Miller

Mason Miller was understandably the ideal target, but he was also unlikely, especially when the Padres really pushed their luck by asking for Kade Anderson in return. (And the top-rated pitching prospect was only a starting point.) However, Weaver would have been more than just some consolation prize, with him following Miller's path by also having a career year.

Yes, Weaver was poor during his brief stint with the Mariners, with a 6.08 ERA and 1.425 WHIP in 13.1 innings. In the three seasons since however, he's been a case of aging like fine wine, and this season he has produced an excellent 1.84 ERA and 0.818 WHIP over 44.0 innings. He ranks in the 89th percentile in overall Pitching Run Value and already has a career-best 2.0 bWAR with effectively one third of the campaign still remaining.

With all this in mind, it's like a gut punch to Mariners fans that Weaver did get moved, but ended up being traded to the Pirates. All the Bucs had to give back to the Mets was shortstop prospect Sammy Stafura, while also receiving $8 million in cash considerations. More specifically $2 million for this year and $6 million next season, towards Weaver's two-year, $22 million contract he signed with the Mets back in December last year.

Mariners seemingly playing a dangerous game by relying on hope with their bullpen situation

As per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, the Mariners were actively attempting to make one more deal for a reliever by contacting multiple teams. General Manger Justin Hollander blamed a market with few sellers and lots of buyers. He said: "We were trying to make a bunch of moves, but we couldn’t match up.”

Now yes, we don't know if the Mariners made a good offer for Weaver, or if the Mets just preferred what the Pirates put on the table. (Shades of Jhoan Duran last year.) However, it's particularly frustrating when realizing the M's could have afforded the righty's contract after offloading Castillo, especially with the Bucs kicking in money to get the deal over the finishing line. There's also little to no doubt Hollander and company could have matched the prospect price, if not exceeded it.

Divish notes Weaver's guaranteed contract carrying into next season made him less attractive, but we don't believe Mariners fans would accept this outlook. Especially not when the bullpen has been so beset by injuries and inconsistency all season. It seems they're hoping Matt Brash, Carlos Vargas and Cooper Criswell all come back healthy and effective, but relying on hope is a dangerous game to play for a team barely hanging on in the playoff race.

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