An outside-the-box trade idea for the Mariners

Randy Arozarena has been the Seattle Mariners’ best hitter this season.

He’s also been at the center of some of the team’s most frustrating moments.

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Arozarena was the club’s only All-Star selection and leads it in several offensive categories, including batting average, on-base percentage, hits, doubles, runs scored and stolen bases.

But then there’s been moments like when he burned both his team’s challenges in their second at-bat of the game and when he pulled up short of a flyball in foul territory that looked catchable. In the latter moment, the next pitch thrown was clubbed for a home run.

Plus, there was the non-handshake incident the with Cal Raleigh at the World Baseball Classic.

As the Mariners draw nearer to what’s expected to be a muddled trade deadline due to the crowded playoff race in a mediocre American League, co-host Mike Salk asked ESPN insider Jeff Passan on Wednesday if the Mariners could make an outside-the-box decision with their left fielder in the coming weeks.

“He’s a complicated dude. He’s their only All Star. He’s been their best hitter by far. You go through all of the numbers and his ranking on the team is like first, first, first, first, first, second, second, first, first, first, first, first and fourth. He’s having a good year,” Salk said. “And yet, almost all of the chemistry (and) culture questions that have come up for the Mariners over the course of the season – hustle questions, concentration issues – they seem to come back to Randy over and over again, and he’s never really seemed all that happy in Seattle. He’s got about two months left on his time here. They’re probably not gonna offer him a new contract other than a qualifying offer to try to get a draft pick.

“Is Randy definitely here through the rest of the year? Or if you’re Jerry (Dipoto) and Justin (Hollander), are you having a conversation to see if there’s like a 2004 Nomar Garciaparra-type deal and wondering if that unlocks some of the challenges they’ve had this year?”

The Garciaparra deal Salk referred to is one of the more memorable and shocking trades in MLB history. Boston traded the face of their franchise to the Chicago Cubs in a rare four-team deal and in return received replacement shortstop Orlando Cabrera and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. Both were big defensive upgrades for a team that struggled in the field and went on to help the club make a run to the World Series title that fall.

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Passan wasn’t exactly sure how that type of deal would go down for the Mariners, but he believes it is something worth considering for the front office.

“I think you’re absolutely open to that possibility. I just don’t know what that looks like,” Passan said. “And if we remember in the in the Nomar deal, they got back Orlando Cabrera, who was a clearly lesser player than Nomar Garciaparra. I don’t remember what the Red Sox’s record was when that trade was made, but I feel like in order to get rid of the guy who has been your best player, you at least need to be in some slight position of strength to suggest that we’re going to ship off someone who’s better than anyone else we have right now and get someone back that’s probably not as good… That’s a big leap to make.”

While Passan view that type of move as risky decision for the Mariners, he can see how Arozarena’s frustrating moments can impact the rest of the roster.

“When you see him running, and I use that term in air quotes, and then pulling up feet in front of a ball that he absolutely should have caught in left field, I think that has an enormous effect on everybody else,” Passan said. “Not just on the pitcher who’s like, dude, I worked hard for that out… Psychologically, it’s a real problem. But because he has been so effective this year, it’s almost like, well, that’s our Randy and you take the good, you take the bad.

“And unfortunately the bad with Randy Arozarena is preventable, and that’s the most frustrating part of it. He does not have to be the guy who pulls up, and I understand he’s had leg issues and he’s concerned about exacerbating them, but that specific play I was talking about, there is just no excuse that.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. on Seattle Sports 710 AM or the Seattle Sports app.

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