Red Sox scooping Mariners on a shared need underlines questions about Seattle's plan

When the Detroit Tigers designated Jahmai Jones for assignment last week, he was right there for the Seattle Mariners' taking. A right-handed bat with recent ownage on left-handed pitching? Yeah, basically an oasis in a desert… until the Boston Red Sox got to him first.

All it cost Boston to get Jones from Detroit was a player to be named later, and he's now on the Red Sox's active roster by way of being out of minor league options. The Red Sox had a spot open after designating Danny Coulombe for assignment, and Jones fits them well as a righty complement to an all lefty-hitting outfield.

Jones would not have been such a clean fit in Seattle. Dan Wilson already has three righty hitters on his bench, none of whom have any options. Buddy Kennedy and Weston Wilson, in particular, are just there to fill space until Julio Rodríguez and Rob Refsnyder are back. And Julio, at least, could be back as soon as Friday.

Still, the situation with Seattle's offense is such that literally any right-handed hitter who comes available feels like a solution. And with Jones, a certain contrast against left-handed pitching basically writes itself:

• Jahmai Jones vs. LHP, 2024-2026: 121 wRC+
• Mariners vs. LHP, 2026: 85 wRC+

Sure, Jones' wRC+ against lefties this year was all the way down to just 45 through 88 plate appearances. And sure, it feels a bit silly to expend so much "What if?" energy on a 28-year-old journeyman who was last an exciting prospect, like, a decade ago.

But do you want Platoon Derangement Syndrome? Because this is how you get Platoon Derangement Syndrome. When your team has a platoon split as bad as the one the Mariners have against lefties, it's just a matter of time before you start seeing random platoon dudes as medicinal substances that might help.

Mariners are making fans hope there's a better solution to the team's lefty-hitting woes

What's needed, of course, is a proper intervention. The Mariners don't just need any right-handed bat. They need a right-handed bat that can promise salvation, and pretty much every new drip of information suggests the front office is aware of this.

In the abstract, this is hopeful stuff. In reality, the situation is a bit more messy.

The playoff races in the American League and National League are such that there aren't enough sellers to go around. Byron Buxton seems off-limits, and now the same seems true of Willson Contreras. That leaves guys like Taylor Ward and Seiya Suzuki, and maybe Ryan Jeffers and Jo Adell if the Mariners really want to go down those roads.

And maybe they don't. For all the buzz about the Mariners wanting another righty bat, there's also been buzz that they don't intend to be aggressive before the August 3 trade deadline. It's not what anyone wants to hear, but it may be a logical endpoint if nothing is worth their time and effort.

In the meantime, one hopes not. Because the thing about Platoon Derangement Syndrome is that, if left untreated, it can only get worse.

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