Mariners Trade Deadline: Who to watch from the Reds

The MLB trade deadline is now less than two weeks away, and the Seattle Mariners are currently getting an up-close look at one of the National League squads in position to be sellers.

Mariners promote prospects, make several releases in sweeping MILB moves

The Cincinnati Reds entered Tuesday with a 45-54 record that has them 17 1/2 games out of first place in the NL Central and six games out of the NL’s final wild-card berth.

The Reds also figure to be a seller to watch closely since the Mariners have some recent trade history with the team. In 2022, they acquired third baseman Eugenio Suárez and outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker from the Reds in March, then swung a deal for starting pitcher Luis Castillo just before the trade deadline. The clubs have also made a few smaller moves since then, including first baseman Ty France being traded to Cincinnati after he was designated for assignment by the M’s in 2024 and Seattle acquiring reliever Casey Legumina before the 2025 season.

According to a report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and C. Trent Rosecrans, the Reds are focused on moving their rentals and looking for potential help in 2027, which could include acquiring major league players.

As far as what Cincinnati has that could be of interest, many of its top trade pieces do not appear to align well with the Mariners’ needs. But the Reds do have one player who seems like a perfect fit. He just doesn’t fit the rental category.

Let’s take a look at the Reds’ top trade candidates, starting with the most likely to be moved and finishing with the best fit for the M’s.

Rentals

The top trade chip expected to be dealt by the Reds is starting pitcher Brady Singer. The right-hander is having a bit of a down year, posting a 4.56 ERA and 1.41 WHIP with 82 strikeouts to 31 walks over 96 2/3 innings in 19 starts. His numbers certainly aren’t helped by pitching in Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, the fifth-most hitter friendly park in the league, per Statcast. But he doesn’t really fit a Mariners team that is already navigating having six starting pitchers on its 26-man roster and has baseball’s top pitching prospect (Kade Anderson) already looking big-league ready.

First baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who Mariners fans know well from his four years with the Texas Rangers, is the top rental bat the Reds could trade. The 2022 Silver Slugger winner is having a bounce-back season in 2026, batting .249 with an .807 OPS, 11 homers and 13 doubles in 72 games. But he’s a left-handed hitter and doesn’t fit the needs of the lefty-heavy Mariners lineup.

Catcher Tyler Stephenson could also be on the move. He’s batting .244 with a .712 OPS, eight homers and 11 doubles in 76 games this year. However, he’s another player that doesn’t fit Seattle’s roster since 2025 AL MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh is entrenched behind the plate.

Suárez is another player from the Reds expected to be shopped at the deadline. The two-time former Mariner would certainly be a good clubhouse fit and his “good vibes” could be helpful for a team that has largely underperformed this year. But it’s hard to see Suárez as a fit beyond the vibes at this point. The 35 year old struggled at the plate after the M’s acquired him from Arizona at last year’s trade deadline, and he’s batting just .208 with a .672 OPS, 12 homers and 11 doubles in 71 games this year, which includes running a career-worst 35.8% strikeout rate.

One rental that could be of interest to Seattle is lefty reliever Brock Burke. He has a 2.89 ERA and 1.35 WHIP with 46 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings over a National League-high 49 appearances this year. He’s also coming off a 2025 season in which he posted at 3.36 ERA over 61 2/3 innings with the Angels. However, walks have been an issue this year for Burke, whose career-worst 13.5% walk rate is the 10th-highest among pitchers who have thrown at least 40 innings.

The ideal Mariners fit

None of the names above may move the needle much, but right-handed-hitting utility man Spencer Steer seems like an ideal for the Mariners.

The 28-year-old Steer is having one of his better years at the plate, hitting .245 with a .756 OPS, 16 homers and 14 doubles in 95 games. His 104 wRC+ doesn’t scream game-changer, but what he does against left-handed pitching could be exactly that for the M’s. Steer is batting .342 with a .442 on-base percentage, .620 slugging percentage, 1.062 OPS, five homers, seven doubles and more walks (14) than strikeouts (12) in 96 plate appearances against southpaws this year. He ranks top five in MLB in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and wRC+ (184) against left-handers.

Steer, a University of Oregon product, has the ability to play all over the field and has played all positions except shortstop and catcher this year, with the majority of his time coming at first base, second base, left field and right field. He isn’t a particularly good defender, though, having posted negative defensive runs saved at every position except first base throughout his five-year career.

Steer is in his first year of arbitration and under club control through 2029, so he likely wouldn’t come cheap in a trade.

Seattle Mariners news and more

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