Mariners Trade Targets: 3 bats from teams on the bubble
The Seattle Mariners remain in a fight for the American League West and in need of offense with the July 30 MLB trade deadline drawing ever closer.
Mariners Roster Move: First baseman called up, Bliss optioned
The trade market has been slow so far this month, a result of so many teams remaining in the postseason race. Before the deadline hits, however, there are sure to be some teams that will decide to sell.
Who could be available bats from teams on the playoff bubble? ESPN MLB reporter Jesse Rogers identified three players when he joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on a recent show.
Rogers was asked by Michael Bumpus about hitters that could potentially become available that may help the Mariners despite not being the most exciting names, and Rogers pointed to the Washington Nationals’ Lane Thomas, the San Francisco Giants’ Jorge Soler, and the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Joc Pederson.
“I think there’s a bunch of teams that have decent hitters that are in the mix, and if they decide to sell, that could be fruitful for the Mariners – especially if they’re willing to take up some salary,” Rogers said. “… The key (is) which teams are going to sort of fall out of it, and at that point the Mariners should want to pounce. But even without that, we know there’s going to be some hitters available, and I think the Mariners should pounce either way.”
Here’s a quick look at each of those three hitters Rogers mentioned, as well as the situations their teams currently sit in.
Potential Seattle Mariners trade targets
Lane Thomas, OF, Washington Nationals
The regular right fielder for the Nats, Thomas probably qualifies as the most interesting of the three players Rogers mentioned. He’s younger than the others, with his 29th birthday coming up next month, and he has a year of club control left. He’s making $5.45 million this year with one more season of arbitration eligibility before he’s set to hit free agency after the 2025 season.
This year, Thomas owns a .246/.315/.396 slash line for a .712 OPS with eight home runs and a career-high 25 stolen bases in 71 games, though he’s also been caught stealing a league-most 10 times. Thomas had a big season in 2023, slashing .268/.315/.468 for a .783 OPS with 28 homers and 20 steals.
Thomas’ Statcast page reveals some strong intangibles, as he’s 95th percentile this year in MLB in arm strength, 93rd percentile in sprint speed, and 92nd percentile in chase percentage (how often a hitter swings at pitches outside of the strike zone).