If Mariners need to shake things up, a Triple-A player is worth adding

The Mariners enter their homestand this week in position for one of the American League’s three wild cards, but they don’t seem to have the same momentum they have had at other points this season.

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Coming into Tuesday’s series opener against the Washington Nationals, the M’s own a 15-14 record since the All-Star break, and they haven’t won two straight series in the nine they’ve played over that same stretch. It’s clear they could use some help offensively as they’ve scored four runs or less in 10 of their last 16 games, and they’ve also looked a little less sharp defensively in the corner outfield spots lately.

Unfortunately for the Mariners, the MLB trade deadline is long gone, ruling out that way of making additions to the roster. But if Seattle decides to shake things up, there is a player with Triple-A Tacoma who may be worth bringing back up to the big league club: Taylor Trammell.

The 24-year-old Trammell has played well in 2022, whether it’s been with the Mariners or the Rainiers. He filled in capably when Seattle needed him due to injuries to others earlier in the year, but he lost his spot on the roster when he landed on the injured list himself with a hamstring strain in late June. That was actually a reoccurrence of an injury he suffered in April while with Tacoma, but he’s seemed to be just fine since he started a rehab assignment with the Rainiers on July 31 (he was activated from the IL and optioned to Tacoma on Aug. 13).

Nine doubles usually gets it done.

Taylor Trammell's third hit and second two-bagger put it away in the 8th inning (3 RBI).

📰 Double R pleasure: Rainiers romp over ABQ, 9-5: https://t.co/EvvERbaBcSpic.twitter.com/HCfaMyCjrA

— Tacoma Rainiers (@RainiersLand) August 19, 2022

In 14 games since then with Tacoma, Trammell is hitting .321 with two homers, three doubles, and eight walks to just 10 strikeouts. Overall with the Rainiers in 2022, which includes three additional games at the beginning of the year, he has a slash line of .308/.392/.523 for a .915 OPS, while in 32 games with the Mariners, his slash is .235/.323/.457 for a .780 OPS with three homers, nine doubles, and 11 walks to 24 strikeouts.

Trammell, who also has good speed and plays strong defense at any outfield position, seems like an obvious September call-up candidate when MLB rosters expand at the beginning of next month, though it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see him sooner.

“The one person that I would keep an eye on, and somebody I would not mind seeing at all, is Taylor Trammell,” Mariners insider Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports said Monday on The Mike Salk Show. “I think there’s value to having him play every day (in Triple-A) coming off the injury and getting those at-bats and getting back into it, but I think a defensive outfielder on this team would be helpful, and I think that that’s perhaps one place where you could go.”

Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto has been watching Trammell as closely as anybody these last few weeks, and he had positive things to report Monday night when he joined Extra Innings with Curtis Rogers, a special show that covers the Mariners from 7-9 p.m. on Seattle Sports on any weekday when the Mariners don’t have a game.

“He’s really made a lot more contact this go-around with Tacoma,” Curto said after mentioning that Trammell has cut down on his strikeouts in Triple-A, which is something the M’s wanted to see. “He has been a much more effective player than he was with the Rainiers last year, and it seems like something’s clicking for him. He played well when he was up with Seattle earlier when they needed him because of injuries, and I could see him getting another call this year if they needed and being able to hold down the job if they need him to.”

The 35th overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft by Cincinnati, Trammell is also a former highly-ranked prospect that Curto thinks could still have an impact for the Mariners beyond being a bench piece on the fringe of the roster.

“He’s become a very interesting player again, I think, and he’s not that old,” Curto said. “I think there’s still something there for Trammell and that he could end up having a long major league career.”

You can listen to Curto’s full Extra Innings conversation with Rogers in the podcast at this link or in the player below.

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