Second Half Begins For Mariners!

Although it is not technically the beginning of the second half because the Mariners have 72 games remaining since they have played 90 major league baseball calls it the beginning of the second half.

The Mariners have a record of 43-47 going into Friday’s night game against the White Sox in Chicago. The White Sox made a trade on Wednesday being the first one to do so this week leading into the trading deadline. The deadline is technical as well where it is supposed to end on July 31 however teams can still make trades but they have to put the players through waivers to do so. Often teams will put players through waivers during this time to see what teams may be interested in the players.

Since Jerry Dipoto took over as general manager in September 2015 he has made more trades than any in baseball and most of us expect that he will make trades during this period. Depending whether the team thinks it will make the playoffs or not they call team’s buyers or sellers. Those who believe that they will make the playoffs will be the buyers while those that don’t will be the sellers however a team like the Mariners could be both in some regards.

The Houston Astros who have the best record in the American League will go after a player that they think will bolster their team. In their case it will likely be more to help them when they make the playoffs. In that case they may wait until sometime in the middle of August or later depending how they are doing after this break.

A team like the Oakland A’s who have little chance without a miracle will be a seller and will trade any player that they feel can get them some good prospects. During this period of time usually prospects are what the seller will get in return. The White Sox traded Jose Quintana to the Chicago Cubs for four prospects. No major league player was involved in this trade. Although they were top notch prospects there is no guarantee any of the players will be successful in the major league. In fact depending on the player who is being traded will decide how high a prospect they will get in return. A pitcher that is a fourth or fifth starter or reliever will likely get prospects from Class A in return.

The Seattle Mariners will likely look at getting at least a player in return that has played in triple A for example they got Ben Gamel from the Yankees during this period last year and it has paid off well for the Mariners. This year though the Mariners are looking at picking up a pitcher if they believe that they can make the playoffs. It will likely be a fourth starter though they could get a third starter depending on who they give up. The Mariners problem is that they lack a lot of quality minor league players. The White Sox on the other hand because of the trade in sending Quintana to the Cubs and Chris Sale to the Red Sox during spring training they have abundance of minor leaguers so they could trade any of them for a quality player however that likely won’t happen this year.

One player the Mariners might trade is Jarrod Dyson who will be a free agent at the end of the season. This could happen whether they are buyers or sellers. Since they have three quality young outfielders at this time they may look to get a pitcher in return for Dyson. Who else they trade will depend on who the other teams may want. Whatever the case the Mariners will get someone that they believe can help them the rest of this year as well as next year. Dipoto says that he will go after getting a pitcher. Most likely not a number one or two starter. If he gets one it is likely during the off-season. He will make a trade than like he did last year when they picked up Jean Segura and Mitch Haniger from the Arizona Diamondbacks. I would not be surprised if Dipoto will talk to teams like the Diamondbacks, the Tampa Rays, the Yankees and the Dodgers who he has made trades with since becoming general manager. This will be an interesting time to see what the Mariners will do.