Seattle’s LGBTQ community members say they hope that this Friday’s World Cup “Pride Match” between Egypt and Iran, two countries where homosexuality is criminalized, can be an opportunity to change minds.
Seattle, WA
Ranking the Seattle Mariners' trade needs by position
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.
Insider: Deep, young farm system gives Seattle Mariners ammo for deadline
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.
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SEATTLE — Seattle police are investigating a shooting that left a 17-year-old boy injured early Thursday morning in the High Point neighborhood.
At about 12:48 a.m., dispatchers received multiple reports of rapid gunfire near Sylvan Way Southwest and Southwest Morgan Street.
Officers arrived and found a 17-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound to the hip area. Medics transported the teen to Harborview Medical Center in serious but stable condition.
Before officers located the victim, they found a car that had crashed and become disabled near Sylvan Way Southwest and Delridge Way Southwest. Police said multiple suspects were seen running from the vehicle through a nearby Home Depot parking lot.
Officers cordoned off the area and searched for the suspects with assistance from the K-9 Unit, but were unable to locate them. Police recovered the vehicle and impounded it for processing.
During the incident, gunfire struck at least three vehicles and two buildings. No other injuries were reported.
Officers processed multiple nearby scenes and recovered evidence before clearing the area. Detectives with the Gun Violence Reduction Unit will lead the investigation.
Seattle, WA
Council eyes street barricades in fight against violence, sex trafficking in north Seattle
SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council is expected to vote next week on a plan that would give the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) the authority to close off street access for public safety reasons.
The proposal comes after months of outcry from residents in north Seattle who say sex traffickers and sex buyers are looping through the streets surrounding Aurora Avenue North.
The street-closure proposal passed the council’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday and is expected to be voted on by the full council next week.
“I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say the crime has gotten much worse, much more violent, and much more predator,” said District 5 councilmember Debora Juarez. “I think that we do have the authority to shut down a street for bullets flying and endangering the lives of those who live there.”
Frustrated neighbors have installed their own homemade barricades after a spate of gun violence between sex traffickers in May.
RELATED | SDOT removes street barricades near Aurora Ave; neighbors doubtful of temporary measures
Councilmember Bob Kettle says street closures will help tamp down sex buying in certain areas, but he emphasizes it must be accompanied by an increase in outreach and enforcement.
“We have to have a sustained effort,” Kettle told KOMO News. “My concern is for every action, there’s a reaction. We need to take this flex and then really attack it … because if we do just a bit and our attention wanders, we could have this conversation three months from now and we’re talking about the same thing.”
A 15-year-old boy was shot near 95th Street and Aurora Avenue North around 10:45 p.m. last night. The teen initially claimed he had been shot while walking down the street, but investigators now say he was shot by a passenger in his car.
RELATED | Seattle police say ‘drive-by’ on Aurora Ave. was actually passenger shooting teen driver
Kettle credited the city’s Real Time Crime Center cameras with helping investigators quickly piece together the events of the shooting.
“Just as important to finding out what happened, the cameras help police determine what did not happen,” Kettle said.
According to Seattle police data, reports of shootings and shots fired in the north precinct area are at their lowest levels since 2021.
Through the end of May, there were 48 total reports of shootings or shots fired, with one fatal shooting and seven nonfatal injury shootings.
That’s down from 63 total reports of shootings and shots fired – one fatal and seven injuries – in 2025; and 64 shootings or shots fired reports – one fatal and 17 injuries – in 2024.
At Tuesday’s committee meeting, councilmembers pointed out residents are calling for a new police precinct to be built on Aurora Avenue.
Ten years ago, a new North Precinct building was slated to be built at 130th Avenue and Aurora Avenue North to replace the existing precinct building, which was decades old and did not have enough space for the department’s needs.
Led by former councilmember Kshama Sawant, the “Block the Bunker” movement successfully got the North Precinct replacement project killed in city council.
Kettle said the city’s current financial issues make it essentially impossible to bring back a project similar to the one the previous council defeated.
“We have to connect the dots back,” Kettle said. “If we want to know why we are where we are today, we have to look at decisions made over the last two councils.”
Seattle, WA
Iran and Egypt to play in Seattle ‘Pride Match’ despite earlier complaints | The Jerusalem Post
Seattle revels in its reputation as a welcoming place and Pride flags are visible all over the city, all year round. Its June Pride weekend is one of the biggest in the United States.
So, ahead of December’s World Cup draw, it was only natural that local organizers designated the June 26 match to be held in the city as a “Pride Match.”
Then the draw happened — and the two teams scheduled to play the game were Egypt and Iran.
Egypt’s Football Association urged global soccer governing body FIFA to prevent any Pride-related activities, arguing such events clashed with the Muslim-majority country’s cultural and religious values. The governing body in Iran, where same-sex relations can carry the death penalty, filed an objection with FIFA.
Some in Seattle have doubts over the teams in the ‘Pride Match’
But in Seattle, there is no question that the Pride Match will go ahead as planned.
“The World Cup is going to come and go in three weeks,” Hedda McLendon, from Seattle’s local World Cup organizing committee, told Reuters. “The Pride celebration … has happened on this weekend for 50-plus years.
“It is going to happen this weekend, it is going to happen long after the World Cup.”
Some in the city’s LGBTQ community had mixed feelings given the participants, said Jon Cairns, 49, manager of local LGBTQ+ club Kremwerk.
Cairns, however, said his own view was that it provided a platform to promote acceptance that only the world’s biggest sporting event could offer.
“My reaction is let’s have them,” he told Reuters. “International sports is one of the biggest brokers historically of social change and individual rights and freedoms worldwide, including in the U.S.”
He cited black U.S. sprinter Jesse Owens’ four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ raised-fist protest in 1968 as moments where “only international sports could reach that big of an audience.”
“They’re not going to turn off the World Cup on state television in Iran or Egypt to block out a Pride flag in the audience,” Cairns said.
The Pride Match is “a host city initiative” and separate of FIFA, a spokesperson for soccer’s governing body told Reuters.
Seattle’s LGBTQ community sees an opportunity
Egypt and Iran’s involvement in the Pride Match is not the first time the World Cup has grappled with stark differences in attitudes between hosts and visitors.
In 2022 World Cup host Qatar, the emir said visitors should “respect our culture” when asked about gay people attending the tournament.
FIFA threatened yellow cards for captains wearing the “OneLove” armband, citing its rules against political slogans. Teams including England and the Netherlands that had been planning to wear the armbands to protest Qatar’s laws against same-sex relationships abandoned the plan.
For Ryan Webster, a 40-year-old lifestyle manager who was at Kremwerk the weekend before Pride, Seattle’s “Pride Match” was an opportunity to show solidarity with people in countries where their sexuality was outlawed.
“I’m choosing to believe that this is our moment to allow the members of the LGBTQ community that come from those countries to have the opportunity to celebrate themselves in totality that they might not have otherwise,” he said outside the club, which will host a watch party for Friday’s game.
Inside, ‘Venus Fengz’ lip-synced to Cher’s “Believe” before introducing fellow drag performers to the stage, clapped and cheered by a raucous crowd.
Fengz, who only wanted to provide their stage name, said Pride coinciding with the World Cup would bring increased visibility, anticipating perhaps some new audience members.
“I think it’s always great for us to be able to share space and share places with people who don’t have the same experiences as us,” they told Reuters.
“Sometimes you just have to be the bigger person and show grace where you can and know that everyone is a human learning (from) different experiences, but also it can get hard — because you’re on the shorter end of the stick, always trying to have to explain yourself around people who don’t grow up with the same worldview.”
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