Olney: What makes M’s an interesting trade deadline team

When it comes to this year’s trade deadline, the Seattle Mariners and the rest of the American League may be waiting it out until the end to see who emerges as the buyers and sellers in the crowded race.

Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto recently told ESPN’s Buster Olney on the Baseball Tonight podcast he expects this year’s trade deadline to be “very difficult to muddle through” because of the odd start to the year in the American League, which includes the White Sox currently holding a playoff spot, the Blue Jays below .500 following their World Series appearance and only one team more than five games out of a playoff spot. Even the M’s are currently is possession of a wild card berth with a 25-27 record.

Seattle Mariners are left to wonder who will sell at trade deadline

Olney joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy for a conversation about the Mariners on Friday. When discussing their potential trade deadline needs, he described them as being in a similar spot as the AL picture: unclear.

“I think every team has its holes that develop during the course of the year. I think what’s interesting about where the Mariners (stand) today is we don’t totally know where that’s going to be,” Olney said.

One potential need for the Mariners is a quality right-handed bat due to the club’s left-handed heaviness and struggles from its platoon options on the right side. They entered Saturday with the worst batting average (.189), worst OPS (.593) and third-worst wRC+ (76) against left-handed pitching in MLB.

But that could change between now and when the most significant trade action takes place in late July.

“They’ve been terrible against left-handed pitching,” Olney said. “And they signed Rob Refsnyder, who’s a great teammate, he’s a great veteran. I talked with the Yankees people and they wondered why the Red Sox ever let him get away. But to this point, that hasn’t paid off. Will there be a time when that hole will be filled by Rob? Or as they get Victor Robles back now off the injured list, will they start to perform better? When Cal (Raleigh) comes back, will he be better?”

The bullpen is another area the M’s and just about any playoff contender could try to add to. But Olney believes that is even a little unclear for Seattle considering the potential impact 2025 No. 3 overall pick Kade Anderson, who has a 1.63 ERA through his first eight starts at Double-A, could have down the stretch.

“What role is he going to play when he inevitably gets called up to the big leagues? Will he become that two-month bullpen phenom who becomes a shutdown guy for the postseason?” Olney said. “I think we just don’t know quite yet exactly what the Mariners’ need is going to be.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays form 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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