Mariners need a miracle or a trade deadline sale to save season after Rangers flop

The 2026 Seattle Mariners just can't have nice things, and that apparently includes momentum. One minute, they're riding high after a comeback win that kindled a small flame of hope. The next, said flame is getting blown out by the gust of so many home runs.

Indeed, the only positive read on the Mariners' 7-3 loss to the Texas Rangers on Monday was that it at least broke from the usual agonizing script. It sucks to lose close games because of a lack of runs or a leaky bullpen. But when someone like George Kirby gives up four home runs? Well, that's a tip-your-cap sort of loss.

Regardless, it's not pretty for the Mariners right now. Three losses in four games clinched a defeat in the season series against Texas, which will cost them if the two clubs end up tied for the AL West lead. And since Seattle is 52-55, that ship is sailing.

For the Mariners, buying at the trade deadline means doubling down on a failing team

The MLB trade deadline is a week from today on August 3, and everything that's out there suggests that Jerry Dipoto will be buying. A right-handed bat is on the menu. So is a proven relief pitcher. You know the drill.

Yet even if the Mariners fulfill both needs, the test for the remainder of the season would involve proving this team was only two players away from taking off. And right now, that reframes the whole "Buy! Buy! Buy!" deadline concept as a borderline hopeless leap of faith.

The Cal Raleigh of 2025 is nowhere to be seen. Neither is the Josh Naylor of 2025. Or, at least so far, the usual second-half Julio Rodríguez. It's why scoring has come to feel nigh impossible, and these last four games against the Rangers (27 innings, 14 runs) only underscored that Bobby Magallanes did not take all the offense's problems with him on his way out the door. The more time goes on, the guiltier Dan Wilson, Edgar Martinez and Kevin Seitzer look.

At least the bullpen issues are more straightforward. It's undermanned because of the six-man rotation, and missing Matt Brash, Carlos Vargas and Cooper Criswell to boot. Even with this, though, the "fix" is still weeks away.

Put all this on a wall, and the writing spells out pretty clearly that the Mariners would be foolish to not at least think about selling at the deadline.

A trade deadline fire sale wouldn't necessarily end the Mariners' playoff hopes

It's already looking like a seller's market, specifically for right-handed bats like Randy Arozarena. And though Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reported that the Mariners don't intend to move Kirby, they'll need to rethink that if other teams can't get at Tarik Skubal or Joe Ryan. In that case, Seattle may well be positioned to make a killing by dealing the best starter on the market.

If this is the route the Mariners choose, the hope would then be that they can make like the Cleveland Guardians did last year.

They were dead in the water after shipping off Shane Bieber and Paul Sewald at the deadline. But then, everything clicked and they won the AL Central. Given the kind of talent they have both in the majors and in the minors, the Mariners may well have such a run in them.

It's more likely, though, that a deadline sale would be followed by salvage and reassessment operations. As it could include major league action for Kade Anderson, Ryan Sloan and Michael Arroyo, the former would be the fun part. As it could put the jobs of Wilson, Martinez and Seitzer in jeopardy, the latter would be the less fun part.

Ultimately, there is no easy way to find the best way forward. There is only pretending that there is, and here's hoping Dipoto isn't blind, deaf or dumb enough to think that way.

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