2 Mariners rumors we hope come true, 1 we hope doesn't happen

Mariners' fans should hope the Vladimir Guerrero Jr rumors come true

After the Mariners designated Ty France for assignment, Julio Rodriguez and JP Crawford both landed on the injured list, the Mariners team looks more like the Tacoma Raniers than it does a World Series caliber lineup. This team is seriously lacking firepower and the need to address the offense is paramount. Perhaps the best bat that could theoretically be available at this year's deadline (no matter how much the Blue Jays say otherwise) and the best first baseman available, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would add another big stick that this lineup has been missing.

With the addition of Randy Arozarena, the team now has a solid bat to stick in their outfield, but the team is currently relegated to deploying Tyler Locklear or Luke Raley as their first base solution. While Locklear possesses a lot of upside and Raley has been one of the better Mariners bats this year, they shouldn't settle with those options.

With Vlad (other than maybe Luis Robert Jr.) being the most sought-after trade target, along with the fact that he is controlled through next year, it could be an expensive package. (see our Sodo Mojo trade proposal for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. here). Vlad would provide such an important bat at a premium offensive position and fits this team so well. Jerry Dipoto provided some confidence that the team will be active at this year's deadline and fans should hope that he can get the deal done to get Vlad.

Mariners' fans hope that there are multiple offensive additions

The Mariners and Jerry Dipoto have signaled that they will indeed be aggressive buyers at this year's deadline. Late Thursday night the team pulled off a blockbuster-type move, finally acquiring Randy Arozarena from the Tampa Bay Rays. This is a massive addition and one that will hopefully ignite this offense in the absence of JP Crawford and Julio Rodriguez. But that shouldn't be it.

With holes still at first base, second base (though I think Polanco will ride out the rest of the year), a corner outfield spot, and maybe even a DH or third baseman, this team should still be in on the big names. In the trade for Arozarena, the Mariners didn't touch a top-10 prospect, leaving them in the perfect position to go out and acquire another elite bat, something that they 100% need to do.

While Luis Robert Jr. might be a stretch (though he really shouldn't be considering the number of elite prospects the Mariners still have even after the Arozarena trade), the team seems to still be very active in acquiring another solid bat. The hope has to be to get Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from the Blue Jays, but even names like Jazz Chisolm Jr., Jonathan India, Brent Rooker, Ryan Mountcastle, or Lane Thomas would all be a very solid addition to a lineup that pretty much anyone would provide an improvement for. The Mariners went out and got a legit All-Star level player and now they need to follow it up with another star-level player (Vlad) or a couple of solid secondary pieces to deepen this lineup.

We hope the Mariners don't stop at just one solid offensive addition

Like most of this article has stated, the Mariners need offense and they added some with the addition of Randy Arozarena. While that is a great first addition, there needs to be a couple of follow up moves.

On Twitter, Adam Jude came out and said Luis Robert Jr. is unlikely at this point, but the team is aggressive in pursuit of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. That is great! However, in his article in the Seattle Times following the Arozarena move, he stated that if the Mariners are able to make another move, it would most likely be a "peripheral piece". This needs more offense. They can't settle with Arozarena being the only solid offensive addition. Dipoto needs to make a secondary and possibly a tertiary move to really make this offense something that pitching staffs could fear come October.

The worst thing that the Mariners could do at this point is think that the addition of Arozarena is enough while expecting guys like Garver, Polanco, Julio, and JP to return to their former selves. The latter of that might happen, but over 100 games into the season, you can't bank on that at all. This team needs reinforcements, and the Mariners have the system to make it happen.

Seattle still has at least three or four holes in the lineup and while they all won't get fixed at the trade deadline, Dipoto needs to be aggressive in adding another bat or potentially two. This trade deadline is off to a great start for the Mariners but filling in around the edges while hoping key players bounce back is a terrible strategy could cause an uproar from Mariners fans.