Mariners' latest trade risks helping AL West leader solve their biggest problem

The Seattle Mariners are playing catch-up in the AL West with the Athletics, who have good bats but are conspicuously thin on good arms. You wouldn't think the Mariners would help them out with that, but they just did by sending José Suarez to Sacramento.

The Mariners had to do something with Suarez after they designated the left-hander for assignment this week. Trades are common under such circumstances, and the A's gave them an unspecified amount of cash in exchange. They're getting back a pitcher with a career 5.34 ERA, and one whose lone appearance for Seattle featured a ton of traffic on the basepaths in 2.0 innings.

Still, call it a matter of principle.

José Suarez fills a need on the A's in a way that he didn't on the Mariners

The A's are off to a 22-21 start that gives them a razor-thin advantage of 1.0 games over the Mariners. How they've done it is the Bizarro World version of what could have been expected. Their pitching (106 ERA+) has been solid while their offense (99 OPS+) has fallen short of expectations.

Nobody thinks this will be the case forever, though.

Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers have carried the freight for the A's offensively, but it's just a matter of time before they get more out of Brent Rooker, Tyler Soderstrom, Jacob Wilson, Jeff McNeil and Lawrence Butler. Their pitching staff, on the other hand, is fighting to contain a 1.444 WHIP that ranks third from the top of MLB. The dam will break eventually.

Suarez, however, can help them fight the fight. They pretty much have to use him, given that he's out of options. And they must want to use him, given that they have just one other left-handed reliever on their 40-man roster — seriously, he's it apart from Hogan Harris.

It's quite the contrast from what Suarez was for the Mariners, which was basically a temp. He came aboard just as Matt Brash and Gabe Speier were headed for the IL, and one of them (Brash) is already headed for a rehab assignment. Even without Suarez on the roster, the Mariners have lefties Robinson Ortiz and Josh Simpson in reserve underneath budding fan favorite Jose A. Ferrer.

The Mariners' pitching is chugging right along, posting a 3.62 ERA that ranks sixth in MLB. So if the questions are whether the Mariners ever needed Suarez and still need him now, the correct answers are "no" and "no."

But if they had to trade him to a team that did need him, the A's are a weird choice. And the Mariners didn't necessarily have to make it. If the A's could have claimed Suarez on waivers, they presumably would have simply done that. They must have reached out in hopes the Mariners would listen, and it seems clear that they didn't think highly enough of Suarez to have second thoughts.

Maybe they're right about that. But if they're wrong, the pain in the AL West standings could be real.

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