Drayer: With Díaz attached to Canó trade rumors, Mariners inching ever closer to full rebuild

As Jerry Dipoto’s Mariners roster “re-imagining” continues – and it is becomes more and more clear the likelihood is great that Edwin Díaz will be dealt – the Mariners’ “step back” is beginning to feel more and more like a tear down to the studs.

Can M’s trade Canó? MLB Network’s Amsinger says it would cost

Here’s the latest as of early Thursday afternoon: While Dipoto is continuing to engage in trade talks with numerous teams on numerous players, the focus appears to be on moving Robinson Canó, and since he has a full no-trade clause and limited market, the options seem to be restricted to the New York teams. According to numerous national writers, the Mariners and Mets are well down the road in trade talks and yes, Díaz would be part of what would be a complicated deal involving dollars and prospects on the move, as well.

If Díaz is included in a deal, the return of prospects should be significant. He should not be a throw-in in any deal to just to make a hefty contract more palatable. It is possible that the addition of Díaz in a trade can accomplish both getting out from under a portion of Canó’s remaining salary and bring back future help, and from the names that are being mentioned by New York writers as possibly headed to Seattle, this appears to be the case.

Could a deal with the the Braves or Phillies, both teams that have expressed interest in Díaz in recent weeks, return a better yield? It is hard to imagine it wouldn’t. The question then would be what is the value of moving Canó, a player who does not appear suited to be a part of a rebuilding team and clearly does not want to be moved off second base? We won’t know until we see the return.

What we will know if Díaz is moved is that this is more of a rebuild than a step back, and the further down the road we get with this, perhaps the easier it is to embrace. Mariners fans should have a reason to be all-in, according to MLB Network reporter Jon Morosi, who joined 710 ESPN Seattle’s Brock and Salk on Thursday morning (listen to the interview here).

“If you are going to do it, do it,” Morosi said. “They have assets to trade in Díaz and (Mitch) Haniger. You’ve already traded (James) Paxton and (Mike) Zunino, you might as well keep going and you become, candidly, the Chicago White Sox. They traded (Chris) Sale, (Jose) Quintana and (Adam) Eaton and now they are in a position where they are going to be pretty good, if not now, then in 2020.”

So far this offseason, Dipoto’s deals have brought back players that are big league-ready or somewhat close. If the return in a Díaz deal, with or without Canó, is more of the same, the Mariners could have a shot at that 2020-2021 target Dipoto has set for them to be back on the upswing. If the players coming back are extremely high-upside but much further away from the bigs, this looks more like the full rebuild.

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