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Could the Mariners recreate the Cano, Diaz, and Kelenic deal with the Brewers?

On the anniversary of one of the biggest trades in Mariner's history, we look at a potential deal that could look very similar with the Mariners on the other side this time.

By Tanner Vogt |
Texas Rangers v Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers v Seattle Mariners / Abbie Parr/GettyImages
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On this day, 5 years ago, the Seattle Mariners traded away Robinson Cano and Edwin Daiz to the New York Mets for Jay Bruce, Anthony Swazak, Gerson Bautista, Jarred Kelenic, and Justin Dunn. The Mariners also paid the Mets $20 million of the remaining $120 million left on Cano's contract. This trade has been one of the rarer trades that I think actually worked out fairly well for both sides.

I don't think this is something the Mariners would ever entertain being on the other end of, a salary dump sure, just look at taking on Geno's contract when they acquired Jesse Winker. There is a huge difference between Geno's contract and what is left on Christian Yelich's contract. But for the sake of it being the anniversary and a fairly fun exercise for me to explore, I gave it my best effort to recreate the trade, but this time with the Mariners taking on the salary dump with the Brewers.

Mariners Acquire: Devin Williams, Christian Yelich and $35 Million
Brewers Acquire: Gabriel Gonzalez, Jonatan Clase, Michael Arroyo, Evan White, and Marco Gonzalez

This trade is getting pretty unhinged, and I don't think there is any way the Mariners would want to participate in this trade. Stanton doesn't want to take on bad contracts for the long term, and Dipoto really likes his prospects.

For this proposal I tried to follow the Edwin Diaz/Robinson Cano/Jarred Kelenic trade as closely as possible...it was difficult. The Mariners get an elite reliever with control as well as an aging bad contract, but productive hitter, plus some cash to cover some of that contract. The Brewers take on a bad contract to mitigate some costs while getting a sort of lottery, while also acquiring a very solid prospect group.

In the Cano deal, the Mariners got Kelenic and Justin Dunn, both top 100 prospects. They took on a few players and their contracts and paid $20 million in Cano's deal. In this trade, they send Gabriel Gonzalez, Michael Arroyo, and Jonatan Clase, as well as send the Evan White contract to the Brewers. Gonzalez is a top 100 prospect and Arroyo and Clase are both very solid prospects with high upside.

With the cash the Brewers send to the Mariners, it would cut Yelich's salary down to about $20 million per year. With unloading Evan White and Marco Gonzalez's contracts, it would also save the Mariners $27 million over the next 2 years. In this exercise, I am going to assume the Mariners elect the club option for 2029, to get Yelich to waive his no-trade clause. Factoring the 6th-year option, Marco Gonzalez and Evan White's $27 million gone, Yelich's contract essentially becomes a 6-year deal worth $88 million total, an AAV of $14.67. That is a lot easier to swallow than the 6 years and $150 million left.

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