Trade Target: Spencer Steer

There is no doubt the Mariners will be in the market for a bat this offseason. They are obviously at least two bats away from being able to contend for the division and you probably need more than that. Preferably, you add three solid bats this offseason. Now, not every move can be for a Juan Soto type of player, you have to round out the roster well. Part of that is adding positional flexibility. Today we look at Spencer Steer, who was a very solid bat in 2023, with club control and provides positional flexibility.

Spencer Steer is part of a very talented, young infield core in Cincinnati with guys like Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Noelvi Marte, Jonathan India and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. He played himself into an everyday role, by making playing 3 out of 4 infield spots and 2 of the 3 outfield spots. He doesn't really play any of them well but is probably average to slightly above or below average depending on the position. Steer hit .271/.356/.464 with a 118 wRC+ and was worth 2.1 wins according to fWAR. He hit 23 home runs and ran impressive walk and strikeout rates at 10.2% BB% and a 20.9% K%. He would fit in very well into the middle of the order as long as he is part of 2 or 3 bats you add to this lineup.

It's not hard to figure out that the Mariners need offense, which the Red have a lot of, and the Reds need pitching, which the Mariners have. I hesitate to say "A lot of" because you can never have too much pitching, as we saw this year. Finding a trade package that works here, is a little tricky. I think that Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo holds more value than Steer straight up and both have 1 more year of control than Steer, plus pitching in general is just more valuable that a corner infielder/outfielder. We just haven't a pitcher that has been as good as Miller or Woo traded this early and with this amount of club control, so the value is hard to gauge.