Mariners surprisingly linked to Diamondbacks star not named Naylor or Suárez

With the MLB trade deadline now just three weeks away, plenty of reports and speculation are doing the rounds when it comes to who the Seattle Mariners might target to strengthen their roster (and playoff chances). This includes Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor, although MLB Network's Jon Morosi suggests someone else from the Arizona Diamondbacks could also be a possibility:

As Sodo Mojo's Tremyane Person wrote about last month, Morosi is the guy who suggested that the Mariners needed to focus more on upgrading the starting pitching ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. However, the injury situation with the rotation has changed since he made his comments on Seattle Sports, with George Kirby now looking like his old self, Logan Gilbert getting there and only Bryce Miller left to return, which should be sooner than later following the All-Star break.

Do the Mariners really need Zac Gallen?

Besides, even if the Mariners do still want to add to their starting pitching, is Zac Gallen really the solution here? While his last two outings have indeed been excellent, there is the question of whether he has turned the corner or if this just represents a temporary boost in what has been extremely disappointing season for the righty.

Named the Diamondacks' Opening Day starter for the third consecutive season, Gallen is currently projected to have his poorest campaign of nine years in the majors. His 5.15 ERA, 4.76 FIP, 1.345 WHIP and 22.7 percent strikeout rate would all be career worsts, while he is already just one loss short of his career high of 10 and well on the way to his lowest ever WAR.

A look at Gallen's Baseball Savant page doesn't make things seem any more positive, highlighted by being in the first percentile for breaking run value and the third percentile for pitching run value. In general, his percentile rankings are a worrying mix between poor and average at best.

Mariners need to focus elsewhere ahead of the trade deadline

We do appreciate that this is a pitcher who just two years ago was named an All-Star for the first time and finished third in voting for the NL Cy Young. However, even allowing for the possibility of pitching regularly at T-Mobile Park providing a boost to Gallen, it just seems like there are better options for the Mariners to pursue.

Again though, even allowing for the first two games of this week's road series versus the New York Yankees, the Mariners starting pitching (and bullpen) has been excellent for the last month and looking more like the 2024 version of the rotation. As such, while we agree that the M's should still look to the Diamondbacks as a potential trade partner, let's revert back to Suárez and/or Naylor thank you very much!