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

We are less than a week away from what may very well be the Mariners' most important trade deadline in over 20 years. The offense is struggling (that's putting it nicely) while this pitching staff is one of the best units we have seen in some time.

The Mariners will be linked to virtually every offensive player that has the possibility of being traded this year, and that should absolutely be the case. The offense has been one of the worst in the league and after finding out Julio has a high ankle sprain that could sideline him for a while, along with JP Crawford's broken hand (out for 4-6 weeks), this team needs reinforcements... and soon.

There aren't a ton of options available at this year's deadline, but the good thing for the Mariners is that a lot of them fit the needs of the Mariners as well as the types of players the team looks to acquire. Obviously, DIpoto and Hollander prefer the club control, which a lot of the players available possess. The team is also needing offensive production at pretty much every spot except for catcher, leaving the field wide open for what the Mariners could target.

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.

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.