The Seattle Mariners find themselves at a crossroads with under a week to go before the 2024 MLB trade deadline arrives.
On the one hand, they’re 53-51, and sit just 1 game behind the Houston Astros for the AL West lead, and 3.5 games behind Kansas City for the final wild card spot. On the other, they’ve dropped 3 straight games, and 8 of their last 10, while also being hit by a flurry of injuries.
This week alone the club lost centre fielder Julio Rodriguez to an ankle injury as well as shortstop J.P. Crawford to a fractured pinky. Both were placed on the 10-day injured list with hazy return timelines at best.
Then the club also placed 30 year old Ty France on outright waivers on Sunday, with him ultimately clearing and becoming designated for assignment. When all was said and done, the Mariners would be forced to call up prospects Tyler Locklear (1B), Leo Rivas (SS), Cade Marlow (OF), Jonatan Close (OF), and Jason Vosler (3B) to fill the voids on their major league roster.
“We’ve got a different look to our team with some new faces on the roster today,” manager Scott Servais said. “They’ll get the opportunity to play, and we’ve got to get the most out of them.”
The team’s medical staff has diagnosed Rodriguez with the dreaded high ankle sprain, which often brings varying recovery timelines for athletes. On the bright side, the 23 year old was spotted walking around the clubhouse in flip flops, so pain management doesn’t appear to be an issue at the moment. However he’ll miss at least 10 days as he continues to recover, something the free falling Seattle offence can ill afford at the moment.
“I don’t know how long it’s going to be,” Servais told reporters. “It could be a quick turnaround in 10, 11 days. It could be longer. We’ll see. We’ll know more here in the next few days.”
The Mariners looked at one point to have a chokehold on the AL West, sitting atop the division from May 12th to July 19th with a 10 game lead over Houston. However a poor July record has seen the surging Astros now leapfrog their rivals, forcing Seattle’s front office to make some important decisions this week.
With both the division, and a wildcard spot still within reach, there’s a very real possibility that the Mariners could be playing postseason baseball this fall. However, with their current run of form, plus the rash of injuries they’re dealing with, it’s no guarantee that if the club were to ship out some prospects for immediate help that they’ll see any kind of tangible return on that type of aggressive move.
The trade front has been relatively quiet across the Major League landscape to date. But with big names reportedly being available for the right price, and so many teams in the thick of jockeying for playoff positions, this year’s seller’s market could be an enticing opportunity for Seattle GM Justin Hollander to ship out a few pieces and load up on talent for a 2025 run at a World Series title.
The 2024 MLB trade deadline is on July 30th this year.
Photo: Ken Lund. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.