Mariners Trade Deadline Primer: Who's the next Carlos Santana?

After a 7-3 homestand and a 17-11 month of May, the Mariners appear to be making small strides to improve upon a rough start to the season. While they are certainly playing better, Seattle still has some real concerns.

The offense has largely been carried by Jarred Kelenic and Cal Raleigh playing like all-stars, while certain players will get hot for a week. The lineup lacks depth and stability to withstand any inevitable injuries. While the pitching has been fantastic, it hasn't been enough against good teams. The Mariners are 8-16 against teams that are playing at .500 or better. That's a major problem when you look up the AL West standings and see the Rangers, Astros and Angels are rolling. The M's struggles against good teams has been offset by utter domination against the poorest of the league, but that will only carry you so far.

Sitting at 29-27 and 6.5 games behind Texas for the AL West and with nine weeks to go until the trade deadline, it's not too early to look at potential trade targets that could help the Mariners make a legitimate run this season.

In today's article, we're going to look at "Carlos Santana" type trades.

Last year, when the Mariners were sitting at 35-41 on June 28th, when they acquired the veteran slugger from Kansas City. While Santana didn't turn into Barry Bonds, his clutch play and leadership obviously provided a jolt. The Mariners would surge to a 55-31 finish, and his massive hits in game 2 of the Wild Card Series carried Seattle to the Division Series.

Santana cost the Mariners next to nothing, and the trade sent a clear message that they needed to wake up before it was too late. While the 2023 Mariners are in a better spot heading into June, let's look at some potential veteran additions that could give this offense a jolt, without breaking the bank or giving away major prospects.