Bowden: Why Mariners shouldn’t consider trading a SP

There is still a lot of baseball left to be played, but early signs are pointing toward offensive upgrades being a need for the Seattle Mariners.

Through their first 13 games of the season, the Mariners rank last in MLB in batting average (.188), on-base percentage (.280), slugging percentage (.301) and OPS (.581). It’s resulted in scoring the second-least runs in the league (40) and a 4-9 record despite strong performances from the pitching staff.

If the offensive woes persist, the M’s could find themselves in position to do something they’ve avoided in recent years: trading a starting pitcher to upgrade the offense.

That could be more plausible than ever this season. With Emerson Hancock showing early signs of a breakout, the Mariners’ rotation could become crowded when Bryce Miller returns from an oblique strain that landed him on the 15-day injured list to start the season. There’s also the possibility of top pitching prospects Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan being able to help the big league club later this year.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan recently told Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk that if Hancock continues to build on his strong start, it could open the door for the M’s to trade a starter.

However, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden isn’t keen on that idea. Bowden explained why he believes the Mariners should hold on to all of their starting pitching when he joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Tuesday.

“There’s going to be injuries, there’s going to be regression, and you just need to be prepared for that,” Bowden said. “And the fact that you’re six deep if we include Hancock, you’re eight deep if we can include Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan, which I choose to do, I don’t want to trade any of those eight guys. This is going to allow you to contend for the next several years because you have eight of them.

“At some point, you’ll move on from Luis Castillo. At some point, one of them’s going to blow out, and then all of a sudden eight’s going to become six. And then all of a sudden, someone’s not going to be as good as you thought and now you’re down to five. I mean, that’s how quickly it happens. So for me, that’s the one part of the Mariners team I’m not touching.”

Bowden believes the Mariners’ pitching is what will ultimately lead to them separating themselves from the rest of the league in the later months of the season.

“I think the most important part about pitching is August and September, and I think that’s when the Mariners pull away,” Bowden said. “This is a really, really good Mariners team that is better than the team we saw last year, and they’ve got a lot of youth that’s developing, like Cole Young. (Colt) Emerson’s around the corner. (Brendan) Donovan adds traffic at the top of the lineup. Once (Cal) Raleigh and (Julio Rodríguez) get going, watch out. I personally believe that the Mariners and Yankees are the two best teams in the (American) League, and not by a little bit, by a little bit more than a little bit.”

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

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