Kris Bryant. chicago Cubs. (Photo by petestokke, via Flickr)
Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners. (Photo by apardavila, via flickr)
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. With the rumors all swirling and the possibilities always churning! It’s the most wonderful time of the year. I’m talking about the trade deadline. When there are always so many smokescreens, misdirections, possibilities, and rumors. When every Seattle Mariners fan can easily come up with a trade idea that makes sense to them.
Some of them are completely ludacris like Aaron Judge to the Mariners for Marco Gonzalez and Dee Gordon. Others are better grounded in reality. In the spirit of optimism here is an outside-the-box idea. A mega-trade between the Seattle Mariners and Cubs.
There are a few items to keep when viewing this trade. The Cubs are in a win-now mode as their title-contending window is still open but slowly closing. Kris Bryant is a bonafide superstar, be he isn’t the happiest of Cubbie campers after the last offseason. For their part, the Cubs have even been open to trading Bryant rather than him leave the windy city for no return. This is the backdrop of how a trade of this magnitude can come about.
The Mariners don’t have many highly tradable assets left to move. Marco Gonzales, Kyle Seager, Yusei Kikuchi, and possibly Mitch Haniger. M’s General Manager Jerry DiPoto (heck all Seattle Mariners fans) would also like to move Dee Gordon’s contract.
The Mariners send Marco Gonzales, Kyle Seager, Mitch Haniger, Dee Gordon, and newly acquired outfielder Taylor Trammell to the Cubs for Kris Bryant, Adbert Alzolay, and Pedro Martinez. No, not that Pedro Martinez. This one is from Venezuela, not the Dominican, and calls the Yankees his daddy.
On the surface, this may be a facepalm to the extreme, but pull your hand down and start to look at this a little deeper.
Marco Gonzales, Seattle Mariners. (Photo by Udeez, via Wikicommons)
Understand that Bryant is very upset with Cubs management. The odds of him re-signing in Chicago are extremely poor. In addition, his base salary was $18.6M this year and he’s eligible for arbitration next year. Bryant will easily exceed $20M and could come close to $25M for 2021. This is when his trade value is the highest.
Seager and Bryant would probably be a fairly even swap, this year. They both have their pros and cons that would balance each other out in the short-term.
Chicago is also in need of quality starting pitcher and have been on the hunt for some time. Gonzales fits in nicely behind Kyle Hendricks and Yu Darvish. John Lester and either Jose Quintana or Tyler Chatwood round out a deep rotation. Gonzales signed a team friendly four-year, $30M extension which kicks in next season. That makes him a cost-effective long-term solution, especially since Lester is 35-years-old.
Dee would be a nice late-inning base running threat and versatile defender that could play either middle infield position or the outfield. Haniger wouldn’t help them this year, but next year he’d be a great bat in a line up featuring Rizzo, Baez, Seager, Schwarber, and Contreras.
The Cubs are a big market team with plenty of money, so they can take on Gordon’s inflated contract. If Schwarber isn’t brought back, then Dee could be in the mix to play left field next season in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.
Trammell, who the M’s just picked up from San Diego in the Austin Nola trade, is part of the future Cubs GM Jed Hoyer sells to his fanbase.
Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs. (Photo by petestokke, via flickr)
The Seattle Mariners would have to talk with Bryant’s representation for a long-term deal. That wouldn’t give DiPoto much time to work out a deal with Bryant’s agent unless he knew ahead of time what kind of deal Bryant is looking for and is ready to pull the trigger.
That scenario is exceedingly possible. Bryant could be Seattle’s best power hitter since Junior, so the M’s know they will have to pay Bryant handsomely. We won’t go any further as numbers were never my strongest subject and I’m not very well versed in contracts.
Bryant would get a fresh start in beautiful Seattle. Picture his big bat from the right side paired with Kyle Lewis. Then in a year or so, the dynamic duo is joined by Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez.
Adbert Alzolay admittedly, is a stretch. He has made several starts in the big leagues and looked competent in his outings. Whether Alzolay has “ace-like” stuff is debatable. His floor however is a third or forth starter for a good team.
Pedro Martinez is a middle infield prospect who scouts believe will probably be better at second base than shortstop. With Noelvi Marti as the possible shortstop of the future, Martinez is a good fit.
Certainly, has looked better than Justin Dunn and Yusei Kikuchi. Maybe Adbert could become the ace of our staff but at worst a one two of Logan Gilbert and Adbert would be the best one two we’ve had since? Randy Johnson and Jaime Moyer? Pedro Martinez is a middle infield prospect that scouts believe will probably be better at 2B then SS. Which would work perfect for us since our SS of the future is probably Noelvi Marte, which would slide JP Crawford to 3B. Or if Marte can’t cut it at SS then he can play 3B.
from the right side of the plate. I don’t think I need to say much to sell you on Bryant coming here.
not match up this year as the M’s would be sending $82 million to the Cubs while Chicago sends back maybe around $20 million, the major of which is on Bryant’s current deal that ends after this year. Before making this move,
After taking all the above reasons into consideration, does this trade still sound farfetched, crazy, and face palm worthy? Would love to hear your thoughts on this possibility along with your trade ideas.