Ranking 3 Mariners positions most desperately in need of trade deadline upgrades

With Memorial Day having come and gone, teams across MLB can no longer feign ignorance about what their rosters have and don't have. This naturally goes for the Seattle Mariners, whose 30-23 record makes them the most precarious first-place team in the league.

President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto must be thinking about ways to upgrade the roster, though we can be real that his options go beyond making a series of desperation heaves on the trade market ahead of the July 31 deadline.

There are a ton of reinforcements standing by on the injured list. These include starters Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller, who should be back soon, as well as first baseman/right fielder Luke Raley, who could potentially begin a rehab assignment during the week of June 3.

There are also prospects the Mariners can call on to fill needs. The obvious ones are Cole Young and Harry Ford, both of whom have been hot for Triple-A Tacoma. The former is a candidate to fix a revolving door at second base, while the latter could potentially supplant Mitch Garver as a partner for overworked catcher Cal Raleigh.

If it's a question of which spots do need upgrades from the trade market, here's how we'd rank the Mariners' top priorities.

Mariners Trade Deadline Upgrade Priority No. 1: Third base

The Mariners were experimenting at the hot corner before the season even began. After cutting his teeth as a shortstop and second baseman, third base was meant to be Jorge Polanco's spot in his second season with the club.

A side injury that is still hampering Polanco quickly ended that experiment, and the pivot to rookie Ben Williamson has hit some snags. He has just a .577 OPS in 133 trips to the plate, and his ostensibly brilliant fielding has been hit-or-miss in reality.

Williamson's promotion was the only card the Mariners had to play in terms of a potential savior from the farm system. And while they could use Dylan Moore as a regular at the hot corner, his best role is as a super-utility man who mostly plays against left-handers.

Potential targets: Nolan Arenado, Ryan McMahon, Miguel Andujar, Ramón Urías

Mariners Trade Deadline Upgrade Priority No. 2: Right-handed-hitting 1B/DH

Per Tim Booth of The Seattle Times, the latest on Victor Robles is unfortunately that he may not be able to return from his devastating shoulder injury until September. But the M's will hopefully have Raley back in right field well before then, setting the team up to have capable left-handed hitters in right field (Raley), first base (Rowdy Tellez) and designated hitter (Polanco).

Even then, however, it would be ideal if the Mariners had an effective right-handed hitter who could at least rotate at first base and DH. Donovan Solano and Garver are splitting those duties for now, but each is having a disastrous season. Put their numbers together, and you get a .528 OPS.

Tyler Locklear looked like a potentially helpful in-house option earlier in the year, but he's now mired a bad slump (i.e., .556 OPS since April 27) for Triple-A Tacoma.

Potential targets: Rhys Hoskins, Yandy Díaz, Ryan Mountcastle

Mariners Trade Deadline Upgrade Priority No. 3: Relief pitcher

We were pretty hard on the M's bullpen in April, so it's been a welcome surprise to watch it turn a corner in May. It has a 2.99 ERA for the month, the sixth-best mark in the entire league.

Swing-and-miss stuff remains at a relative premium, however, as Seattle's bullpen ranks only 18th in contact rate this month. Andrés Muñoz and Gabe Speier have been missing bats all year, and we know Matt Brash is up to it. Yet Dan Wilson's other top options lack overpowering stuff, including Carlos Vargas and Casey Legumina.

As Speier is unfortunately the only left-hander in the bullpen right now, another southpaw with swing-and-miss stuff would be the best outcome. Failing that, a righty who can miss bats with or without the platoon advantage would be acceptable.

Potential targets: Aroldis Chapman, Pete Fairbanks, David Bednar, Jake Bird