The Seattle Mariners have been one of Major League Baseball’s biggest disappointments this season. After reaching the American League championship series last October, they are just one game above the .500 mark. Yet strangely, they have a two-game lead for the final AL wild card spot.
The Mariners have an elite starting rotation, but their offense is a bit of a mystery. They tend to struggle against left-handed pitching, so a right-handed bat or two might be useful at the trade deadline, which is now just over a month away.
David Schoenfield of ESPN listed one trade that every team in the league needs to make at the deadline, and for the Mariners, he proposed the idea of acquiring Willson Contreras from the Boston Red Sox.
“The Mariners have a hole bigger than the crater atop Mount St. Helens: They can’t hit left-handed pitching. Like, not ‘bad against lefties’ or ‘they struggle against lefties,’ but along the lines of ‘one of the worst performances ever against lefties,”‘ Schoenfield wrote. “Seattle is hitting .208 and ranks last in OPS against southpaws. Since the live ball era began in 1920, the only full-season team with a lower average against left-handers was the 1968 Yankees, who hit .204.
“Contreras would provide a much-needed right-handed bat, displacing Rob Refsnyder and sharing DH/first-base duties with Josh Naylor. Contreras is making $18 million, so the Mariners would be taking on about $6 million in payroll. They took on salary with the Naylor and Eugenio Suarez deals at last year’s deadline, and it would be a shame to waste a good rotation because you can’t find a couple of right-handed batters.”
Mariners Need Right-Handed Power
The Red Sox aren’t out of the picture yet, but they are six games back in the wild card race and 11 games under the .500 mark, which means Contreras could make sense as a trade chip. The Mariners lost Suarez in the offseason, and he was a key piece in their run to the ALCS last year.
So, adding another right-handed bat would make sense. Contreras is having a strong season at the plate as well.
The three-time All-Star is hitting .283/.377/.529 with 18 home runs, 53 RBI, a 3.2 WAR and a .906 OPS. He was also part of the Chicago Cubs‘ World Series championship team in 2016.
The Mariners were very close to advancing to the World Series. Perhaps a little more offense after losing Suarez could do the trick as they try to return to the postseason in 2026.
What Contreras Brings
Contreras has one year of club control left after 2026. Given his salary, the Red Sox will likely have to take on some of it to make a deal work. But the Mariners need right-handed power. He could serve as the designated hitter while Josh Naylor stays at first base.
It will be interesting to see what Jerry Dipoto is thinking in the next couple of weeks leading up to the deadline. The Mariners still are a team with playoff aspirations, so they will likely be all in on making the necessary upgrades.
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