Salk: This Mariners trade deadline is why they went through rebuild

The Seattle Mariners had one of the best trade deadlines in the league. And it was a moment nearly seven years in the making.

Mariners believe they’re ‘notably better’ after big trade deadline

I love the deadline. For years, it has been my favorite day on the sports calendar. I love that decision makers are forced to commit: are they in or out on this season? Are they ready to sacrifice their future for the present? Or is it time to be realistic about one’s fate, retreat and prepare to fight another day (or year)?

To be honest, for much of my time in Seattle, the Mariners were only peripheral participants in the poker game. They were neither all-in nor all-out. When they were sellers, they either didn’t have the big time talent that could bring back a haul of prospects or they were unwilling to trade the talent they had. When they were buyers, they didn’t have the prospect capital to acquire impact talent to help down the stretch.

Chris Denorfia? Austin Jackson? Adam Warren? These were not inspirational additions. But they were the best the team could buy with a paltry farm system and only middling odds to make the playoffs.

That started to change in 2018 when they dealt Robinson Canó to the Mets and began the process of rebuilding. Really rebuilding. Like, for the first time in team history. They tore it down, traded away their nucleus, and set about building it the right way.

That has paid dividends for the past four seasons, but it was most evident this past week.

The goal of a rebuild is to create a contending major league team with a deep and talented farm system. It’s that simple. Contending is great, but there will be plenty of teams in that position each year and only some of them will have the resources to better themselves.

Every team suffers injuries, but rebuilt teams should have the ability to call up young players to capably plug holes. Every team has areas of need, but rebuilt teams have the capital to seriously improve via the trade market. And the deepest of them can do it without having to fully deplete their farm system for just one season of boosted talent.

The Mariners built up their major league team. They built up their farm system. They’ve used Cole Young, Ben Williamson and Logan Evans to supplement their roster this season. And when the time came, they added two of the three most impactful bats that moved at the deadline – all while barely sacrificing their future.

Eugenio Suárez is currently one of the best hitters in baseball. His 143 wRC+ ranks 14th in baseball. He is fifth in home runs and behind only Cal Raleigh for the lead in RBIs. Josh Naylor is 51st in wRC+ (121), 21st in batting average (.288), and 25th in strikeout percentage (14%). They helped the Mariners create a lineup with a combined OPS of .797. Over an entire season, that would be their highest since 2001!

Yes, both players are impending free agents so their time in Seattle may be limited. But for a team that has struggled to entice players to sign as free agents, maybe a positive experience over a two-month stint would be the best possible marketing campaign.

I was hoping the Mariners had one more move in them. With Harry Ford and a host of other prospects in the system, they had the capital to add even more talent. Another leverage reliever would have really helped down the stretch. And an upgrade to their bench would have looked really nice, as well. After all, if you are willing to part with prospects to add rentals, why not give yourself every opportunity to make that risk pay off? It’s like backing up your bets on a craps table (the best odds in the casino), or ordering a real Coke once you’ve committed to a fast food meal.

But the Mariners were built to pitch. How often have we said, “just get league-average offense and they should be a serious contender?” Well, this offense should be better than average. This should be one of the top offenses in the American League, and it should do more than just complement the pitching staff. It should be able to shoulder the load at times and give that group some margin for error.

I don’t know what happens next for this team. They have been largely inconsistent throughout this season, and with Suárez they added a player who we know can swing wildly from red hot to ice cold and back again. They could really use Bryce Miller back. They could really use Logan Gilbert at his ace-like best. But they now have a well-rounded, complete team.

They can hit. They can hit for power. They can run. They can play defense. They can pitch. And they have a serious bullpen. All in a year in which the American League has no dominant teams.

Now it’s up to these players. As Sarah Conner once said, “there is no fate but what we make for ourselves.” It took close to seven years, but this is the why they made the difficult decision to rebuild. The future is whatever they can make of it.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Here’s every trade the Mariners made before MLB deadline
• Mariners Injury Update: The latest on Miller, Robles
• Mariners’ Trent Thornton fears he suffered significant Achilles injury
• What Mariners’ playoff competition did at trade deadline
• Eugenio Suárez surprised Seattle Mariners by catching team flight

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