Anthony Desclafani or... Trevor Bauer. Let's make an honest assessment of what makes the pitching staff better.

Anthony Desclafani comes to the Mariners in the Mitch Haniger trade. His role is limited to being a spot starter or a bullpen piece and should be traded for a lottery ticket. His salary adds money to the Mariners payroll, which is said to be limited. The Mariners already have the depth in pitching ranks to fill this spot starter, relief role. Emerson Hancock not only provides pitching depth but the potential to excel, as he was a top-end, first-round pick of the Seattle Mariners. DeSclafani should be viewed as a trade piece, which would allow for the Trevor Bauer signing.

The Mariners head into the season currently fielding a starting rotation of: Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller, and Bryan Woo. No one can argue the top three of this rotation is a beast most teams would not want to face in a playoff series. Mariners starting pitching alone is a staff teams don't want to face in the regular season. Without even talking about the bullpen, which includes Matt Brash and Andres Munoz, The Mariners field a strong pitching staff which is supported by a strong up-the-middle core.

No MLB team wants Trevor Bauer, let's get that fact out of the way. Bauer creates a media nightmare no team wants to face. If a team can't sign Blake Snell, they are really are missing out. The fact of the matter is, Bauer is a top-shelf pitcher in the MLB. The former Cy Young winner boosts any rotation. The Mariners could use a pitcher like Bauer to trade the like of Woo or Miller for bat and fill any pitching depth the team had in question. This position allows the team to hold on to the young starters and push Emerson Hancock as the ace of Tacoma.

All points signal the Mariners holding onto their young starters, however, some big moves could be made if the team took some risk on Trevor Bauer, a former Cy Young winner. This signing would be a complex and game-changing signing, not only for the Mariners but for the MLB offseason.