The Seattle Mariners Have TRADED Robbie Ray To The San Francisco Giants, As They Hope To Make A Run At Blake Snell
The Mariners have had the most confusing offseason of any team in baseball this year. It’s not a great free-agent class. It didn’t seem like they were ever really in play for Shohei Ohtani, which was disappointing because I feel like he would’ve been a great fit there. Many teams are just waiting in the wings, using the trade market or hoping that their young pieces in their farm system will develop next season. The Mariners should be an exception, though. They’re one of those teams that should have a championship window open right now. They made the playoffs in 2022 for the first time in 21 years. Last year, they just missed the postseason, but they just missed the postseason in a division that featured the two teams that played in the ALCS. There’s an alternate universe out there in which they could’ve been world champions last year. Julio Rodriguez might just not be entering his prime. The time is now for Seattle.
Earlier this offseason, the Mariners traded Jarred Kelenic. This was not well received. It wasn't a move that made a ton of sense to me. Kelenic got a lot better last year, and I feel like he's destined to rake for the Atlanta Braves. But now they've traded for Anthony DeSclafani and Mitch Haniger, an outfielder and former Seattle Mariner. If you're going to trade for Haniger, why not just hang onto Kelenic? The only logical sense this makes for me is that they're trying to dump Robbie Ray's salary in the hopes that they can make a run at one of the pitchers on the market. If they can swap out Robbie Ray for somebody like a Blake Snell, who went to Washington and is familiar with the West Coast, then that might be a really good deal. The Mariners still need to do more to bolster their offense, but a rotation with Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, and Blake Snell may be the best rotation baseball.
Robbie Ray isn't expected to come back until July. I think he'll be able to get back to throwing mid-90s fastballs coming off of Tommy John's surgery. I don't mind the move for the Giants, but they are becoming one of those teams that feels very much stuck in limbo. They are by no means bad, but they're in that 75 to 85-win range, And I just don't feel like they've done enough in free agency over the last few years to change that perception. Playing in a division with the Dodgers is already difficult enough, but I'm not even feeling great about their chances at a wildcard spot right now.
This offseason hasn't been what people expected. Many thought that after Ohtani signed, many other dominoes would fall, and they really haven't. There are still a lot of big names on the market. Maybe this chess move by the Mariners is what kicks this offseason into high gear. I need the stove to get hotter.