Seattle Mariners Trade Deadline Q&A
With less than a week until the Major League Trade Deadline, PNWS asked our writers about what they think the Seattle Mariners will do.
On June 19, the Seattle Mariners season looked to be over. The Angels shut them outs for the second straight game to drop their record 10 games under .500 at 29-39. We even wrote an article saying the M’s should be sellers at the deadline but didn’t have much to sell.
Five weeks later, the situation has drastically changed for the better. After sweeping the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, Seattle is 54-45, 11 games over .500. They now hold the American League’s second Wild Card spot, just one-half game behind Toronto.
With their reversal in fortunes, the Seattle Mariners are now buyers. We asked our baseball writers a few questions about what the M’s will do at the deadline.
Do the Mariners need to make a trade to go to the World Series?
Chris Phillips
Well, considering they aren’t undefeated, yes. Sarcasm aside, if this team really wants to be in this year’s World Series, not next year’s or the year after (which should be their goal), the team absolutely needs to make a move at the deadline to bolster their roster. This leads to my answer for the next question.
Chip Clark
The Seattle Mariners are getting close to being an American League power, but they aren’t there yet. To go that far, they will need another starter, a consistent get-on-base threat at the top of the order, and maybe another reliever. I don’t have much faith in Penn Murfree, Diego Castillo, Matthew Festa, Tommy Milone, and Ryan Borucki.
Andrew Elderbaum
I think that they need another starter to even feel confident about a playoff spot. If Mitch Haniger can come back as the hitter he’s been in the past, Seattle’s offense will be alright.
Ed Stein
As presently constructed, this is a playoff team but not an American League title contender. The Mariners need some upgrades if they want to play in the fall classic this year.