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The Athletic wonders if the Red Sox could offer enough to trade for Logan Gilbert

There are a lot of teams looking for starting pitching, with the Red Sox joining the hunt. The Athletic wonders if they could send enough for Logan Gilbert

By Christopher O'Day |
Seattle Mariners v Boston Red Sox
Seattle Mariners v Boston Red Sox / Kathryn Riley/GettyImages
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All offseason, the Mariners have been involved in trade speculation with their starting rotation. We've seen rumors involving every single one of their starters, and it shouldn't be a surprise. If Dipoto and Hollander are able to find surplus value in a deal, they are going to make it happen, like they did with the Robbie Ray for Mitch Haniger deal they made this offseason.

The most common names that we have seen out there are Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller. The rumors surrounding them have quieted a bit after the Mariners traded away Marco Gonzales and Robbie Ray, although they did get Anthony DeSclafani in return. With a couple of the missing bats that were so desperately needed now found, the Mariners are down to needing arguably just one bat. Either a legit outfielder who can play a bit of defense, or someone who can man the hot corner.

Would the Red Sox be willing to send enough to the Mariners to trade for Logan Gilbert?

Enter the Boston Red Sox. It recently came out that they are looking to trade for starting pitching, and are looking to use either their prospects or outfielders (or a combination) to make it happen. They've got some strong prospects, and good outfielders as well. Would it be enough to pry Logan Gilbert away from the Mariners?

That's what we are going to look at today. The Athletic brought up a handful of trades that Boston could possibly make to acquire a great starting pitcher and included Logan Gilbert from the Mariners as one of those options. Let's check out the deal. (Behind the Athletic's paywall).

Mariners send: SP Logan Gilbert
Boston Red Sox send: SS Marcelo Meyer, OF Roman Anthony, SP Wikelman Gonzalez

When there is a trade for a great starting pitcher, you are looking at acquiring one of two things. Either a piece that massively helps you at a position of need, or top-notch prospects that get you excited about the future.

This deal doesn't do the first part of it, although Meyer and Gonzalez are both close to the majors, with Anthony a few years away. Meyer is one of the top prospects in baseball, however, ranking #11 over on MLB Pipeline at the end of 2023.

Marcelo Meyer is a big SS with a strong arm, and essentially great tools all around. His speed is below average, but the arm is huge and he could easily make the move over to 3rd if need be. He grades out above average on the rest of his tools, ranging from 55-60 on all of them.

Anthony is actually ranked #35 on Pipeline, but is a few years away. Massive power and a good bat drive his value, although he moves well enough to play center field.

Then you have Gonzalez, who grades out with 60/60/55 on his fastball/curveball/changeup, but has work to do on his control. It's possible that he could be up at the back of 2024, and would be a potential piece for a rotation as they make their push.

Is this enough though, and does it fit the Mariners timeline?

The Mariners should not accept this trade from the Red Sox for Logan Gilbert

The Athletic actually says that this is a deal that the Mariners wouldn't take, as they have been reluctant to engage on conversations around Logan Gilbert or George Kirby. They also list this deal as being done for either of those two players, but Kirby's value is a lot higher than Gilbert's due to the extra year of control and higher ceiling. I agree with them.

Here's my thought process on this. You are getting a lot of value, and for a team that isn't making a push for the playoffs, and a dangerous team at that, it doesn't make sense to weaken your rotation without adding any immediate pieces to improve. If the Mariners were a 75 win team, then you would definitely be making a move like this to send Gilbert somewhere else and get legit future pieces in return.

But, the Mariners are looking to win, and looking to win now.

If something like this were to go down, I think it's not actually that far away from being an acceptable deal. The Mariners could tell the Sox that if they want it to happen, they would have to swap out Roman Anthony for Jarren Duran. He hit .295/.346/.482 in 102 games last season, with 8 homers but 24 steals on 26 attempts. He played a lot of center for the Sox, but pressure could be relieved by moving him to a corner where he performed better.

You get Meyer, who could take over at 3rd when he is ready, or even at SS if you are going to move JP to second. Then, you have a very talented pitcher that could come up in 2025 as your #5 starter in Gonzalez.

I love Logan Gilbert, as he may just be my favorite Mariners player on the team currently. However, if the Sox are going to up their offer to Duran alongside Gonzalez and Meyer, I would have a hard time saying no, and I think it's a deal that the Mariners would strongly consider.

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