Early Mariners Trade Targets: 4 bats at corner infield spots

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The Mariners sit atop the AL West with a three-game lead at 22-14 six weeks into the marathon that is an MLB season. So at this point, the M’s are essentially a stride ahead at the end of the first leg of a metaphorical four-person relay.

According to FanGraphs, Seattle has an 83.5% chance of making the playoffs. But as baseball fans in the Pacific Northwest know all too well after last year’s collapse from a 10-game division lead, there’s still plenty of season left to be played.

If the M’s can make it to July with the same favorable position they’re in now, they should be one of the biggest buyers at the MLB trade deadline with a loaded farm system to deal from. That’s still more than two months away, but it’s never too early to start looking at candidates for the trade deadline.

A lot can change happen between now and then, but the M’s figure to be in the market at the deadline for a corner infielder, particularly one that can play first base, and relief pitching. The outfield and starting pitching also remain possibilities, but if things go right injury-wise, the team should have important missing pieces like outfielders Victor Robles and Luke Raley and starting pitchers Logan Gilbert and George Kirby back by that time.

With that in mind, we’ll focus on the corner infielders in our first early look at potential Mariners trade deadline targets.

Seattle Mariners trade targets

• Alec Bohm, 3B/1B, Philadelphia Phillies

The emergence of Ben Williamson at third base has been huge for the Mariners, but there’s a good chance the rookie will go through a prolonged slump at some point. Bohm, who is under club control through 2026, would give the M’s an insurance policy for Williamson and a potential answer at first base for this year and next year.

A right-handed bat, Bohm has made 504 of his 591 career starts at third and 84 at first. Last season he showed huge improvements defensively, posting a positive outs above average (plus-five) for the first time since debut in 2020.

Bohm’s bat is really what the Mariners would be coveting here, though. He’s coming off a career-best 2024 season where he posted a 3.5 fWAR, hit .280 with a .779 OPS, 15 home runs, 97 RBIs and a 115 wRC+, and earned an All-Star nod.

This season, things haven’t gone as well. Bohm is batting just .237 with a .581 OPS in 35 games, and he has just one home run despite being a Home Run Derby participant last year. But the 28 year old has started to find his stride after struggling early. In 21 games since April 14, he’s hitting .304 with a .767 OPS and 115 wRC+.

What could hold up a potential Bohm deal is what a team with World Series aspirations like the Phillies would want in return. One would think they want help for their current roster, and the M’s don’t have many (if any) big league-ready players to part with.

• Nathaniel Lowe, 1B, Washington Nationals

The Mariners are very familiar with Lowe, who spent the past four seasons with the division rival Texas Rangers. They even made an “aggressive push” to trade for him this offseason, per MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer, but the Rangers dealt him to the Nationals instead.

Lowe has posted an average of at least .262 and OPS of at least .762 in each season since 2021. In 38 games with the Nationals this year, he’s hitting .255 with a .340 on-base percentage, .772 OPS, six home runs, 28 RBIs and a 118 wRC+.

Lowe also developed into an elite defender at first base with Texas, winning a Gold Glove in 2023. The metrics haven’t favored him so far this season, but he was third among first baseman with plus-15 outs above average from 2023-24.

Of any player on this list, Lowe might make the most since as a Mariners fit. He’s a left-handed bat with almost identical splits against lefties and righties, is under club control through 2026, and plays for a team that will likely be selling when the deadline approaches. His $10.3 million salary may be the only obstacle here.

• Ryan O’Hearn/Ryan Mountcastle, 1B, Baltimore Orioles

The Mariners and Orioles have been linked together as potential trade partners for multiple seasons due to Seattle’s wealth of young, talented pitchers and lack of hitting, and the Orioles’ wealth of young, talented hitters and lack of pitching. In years past, it was thought these squads could link up to help each other out for their respective playoff pushes. If things keep going the way they are in 2025, Baltimore (13-23 entering Friday) will be selling and looking towards the future in July.

O’Hearn and Mountcastle could each help out the Mariners’ first base situation, although they’re both suited best as platoon bats – especially O’Hearn. Ideally, both players would be packaged together, but that might cost more than the M’s are willing to give up.

O’Hearn, a 31-year-old left-handed bat who can also play some corner outfield, is the better player of the two. He’s batting .305 with a .383 on-base percentage, .951 OPS, seven home runs, 14 RBIs and a 174 wRC+ in 28 games this season. His Baseball Savant page is filled with red, which is very a good thing.

However, O’Hearn’s handedness is the less pressing need for the M’s at first base right now with Rowdy Tellez quietly putting up solid numbers after rough start at the plate. O’Hearn is making $3.5 million this season with an $8 million club option for next year.

Mountcastle, 28, has been a productive hitter since debuting in 2020. He slugged 33 home runs in 2021 and 22 in 2022, but his power numbers have continued to decline each season. He’s off to a slow start in 2025, batting just .2059with a .566 OPS, two home runs and 11 RBIs in 25 games. He’s also struggling against lefties this year, but his career .279 average and .821 OPS against southpaws suggests that should turn around at some point. Mountcastle is under club control through 2026.

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