At this point, it feels as if any hitter with a pulse and a wRC+ near 100 has been brought up as a potential trade candidate for the Seattle Mariners. The names have been rolling in for weeks due to the continued struggles of the offense.

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Rather than take a look at specific names, let’s take a look at the the Mariners’ five biggest trade needs by position.

1. Corner outfield

The need here is somewhat specific: The Mariners could really use a right-handed bat in the corner outfield that mashes left-handers and is still productive enough to play mostly everyday against righties. After a track record of hitting left-handers well, Mitch Haniger has struggled mightily against lefties this season, slashing .150/.218/.163 with just one extra-base hit in 87 plate appearances, and left-handed bats Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone have shown they’re best suited for platoon roles at this point in their careers.

Canzone also just went on the injured list with a right adductor strain, which resulted in prospect Jonatan Clase being recalled from Tacoma. Clase is intriguing due to his speed, power potential and ability as a switch-hitter, but he’s still unproven and appears to need more seasoning at just 22 years old with less than 300 at-bats above Double-A.

One potential candidate the Mariners have internally is right-handed hitting Victor Robles, but they haven’t seemed very eager to give him a chance to play regularly. Robles has hit well in his limited time with Seattle, but he also profiles as a platoon bat with much better career numbers against left-handers (.732 OPS vs. lefties, .647 vs. righties).

Additionally, there just aren’t any viable outfield options within the farm system that could give the team the offensive spark it needs in 2024. While a right-handed bat would be ideal, Seattle also isn’t in position to balk at acquiring an impactful left-handed hitter. Corner outfield bats are normally among the easier pieces to acquire at the deadline. However, that may not ring as true this season with offensive numbers down across the league and a muddled wild card race in the National League. Regardless, Seattle desperately needs more offensive production from a corner outfielder other than Raley.

2. Second base

There could certainly be a healthy debate between second base and first base being in this spot, but I’ll lean towards second for a couple of reasons. The first is that second base has been an absolute black hole for the franchise for multiple years offensively. Jorge Polanco appears to be the latest casualty. The other is that it doesn’t feel as if internal options can truly give this team the offensive spark it needs.

In theory, the Mariners could trade for a third baseman and run a platoon of Josh Rojas and Dylan Moore/Ryan Bliss at second, which probably improves the offense. But why move Rojas off third base when he’s been the best defender in the league at the hot corner? Moore and Bliss provide good speed and defense, but neither seem likely to provide the consistent hitting this team needs to improve. Seattle second basemen rank 29th in batting average (.198), 27th in slugging (.311) and 25th in wRC+ (80) this season.

3. First base

Ty France once looked like a player who could potentially contend for a batting title, but the version of the first baseman the Mariners saw when they acquired him from the Padres in 2020 through the first half of the 2022 season seems to have disappeared. France is slashing .240/.323/.370 with a 101 wRC+ since he played in the 2022 All-Star Game. A league-average bat is actually a pretty good thing for the Mariners at this point and would be fine in a part-time role, but it’s just not the type of offensive production a team needs from a starting first baseman. After retooling his swing in the offseason at Driveline, there were some positive signs for France during a solid first couple of months this year, particularly in May, but he’s struggled since going on the IL with a right heel fracture in early June.

If there’s someone in the farm system who has a chance to make a real difference offensively this season, Tyler Locklear seems like the best candidate. Locklear would provide power and more athleticism at a minimum, but a proven bat from an outside source would be a better bet.

4. Reliever

Considering the huge gap in level of performance between the pitching and the offense, it feels odd putting any sort of pitching on the list, but the Mariners could still use another high-leverage arm out of the bullpen. With Matt Brash out for the season, Seattle is an Andrés Muñoz injury away from being without a true, top-level, high-leverage arm, and Muñoz has notably battled through lower back issues throughout the season already. Ryne Stanek has been a solid addition to the group, but he isn’t a guy you necessarily want being your top leverage arm. The recent addition of Gregory Santos off the injured list should help as well, but it would also be foolish to pen in someone who’s been hurt all season as a certain lockdown arm, even one with the type of stuff Santos has.

With that said, this group is in better shape than it could be thanks to great first halves from Muñoz and less-heralded bullpen pieces Trent Thornton, Tayler Saucedo and Austin Voth.

5. Designated hitter

After multiple seasons of using a rotation at designated hitter with diminishing returns, the Mariners committed to a full-time DH when they signed Mitch Garver to a two-year deal this offseason. However, it never really worked out early on, and manager Scott Servais started giving Garver time as the backup catcher in an effort to jump start is struggling bat. To his credit, Garver has recovered from very poor first month and steadily become more of consistent force in the lineup. The .174 batting average leaves a lot to be desired, but he’s getting on base and providing power when he does make contact. Garver leads the team with 38 walks, is second with 12 home runs and third with 12 doubles.

This isn’t to say the Mariners need to trade for a full-time DH, because Garver needs to get at-bats outside of one or two games a week filling in for Cal Raleigh, but there’s no reason to say no to acquiring a player whose bat warrants regular playing time and glove doesn’t (like the 2023 version of Miami’s Jake Burger acquisition). The M’s could find some at-bats at DH for such a player. It’s also worth noting that Garver has seen some limited action at first base (51 innings over 15 games) during his career. It doesn’t seem very likely, but that’s another place he could potentially get at-bats if another DH type was brought in.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• What can Seattle Mariners expect from reliever Gregory Santos?
• Mariners Quick Hits: What’s controllable for offense; Raley’s bunt ability
• Clubhouse Insider: Local product Austin Voth’s bullpen breakout
• Headline Rewrites: Reading between lines of two M’s prospect moves
• Seattle Mariners Trade Target: A hot-hitting infielder from the Reds

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