Why ESPN’s Passan expects Mariners will be aggressive in trades

ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan was asked about a specific Seattle Mariners trade scenario Wednesday, with just over two weeks to go before baseball’s July 31 trade deadline.

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The premise is one you’ve probably heard already this year: Seattle making a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks to both reunite with All-Star third baseman Eugenio Suárez and bring in slugging first baseman Josh Naylor.

“Yeah, I mean, it would be perfect,” Passan said about the idea to Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. “And I think it would (put) this team right there with every other team in the American League that has World Series aspirations.”

The AL is wide open this year, and the Mariners (51-45 record) are in a good spot, sitting with a lead of 1 1/2 games over Tampa Bay for the league’s third and final wild card to the playoffs with 66 games to go. It may be a little easier to buy into Seattle’s postseason hopes now, too, after they crushed the MLB-leading Detroit Tigers (59-38) in a three-game sweep on the road last weekend.

The Tigers are about the only team in the AL the M’s couldn’t reasonably catch in the standings, according to Passan.

“Detroit, they’re 25 games over .500. I know they got absolutely sonned by the Mariners, but I think you can see beyond that series what the Tigers have done over the first half this year, and you can’t ignore it,” Passan said. “But does that trade (proposal for Suárez and Naylor) – or a trade for even one of them – put (the Mariners) up there with the Yankees? Yes. Red Sox? Yes. Rays? Yes. Blue Jays? Yes. Astros? Yeah, I think so.”

And that led to Passan saying this about the trade deadline.

“I think the Mariners are going to be aggressive. And I think they should be.”

Passan then pointed to one thing that should push the Mariners to make a big splash before the deadline: Cal Raleigh, who is having perhaps the greatest season of any catcher in history.

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“You don’t take years like this from superstars and waste them. Period,” Passan said. “And I think the Mariners front office knows that. Like, we can’t ever expect a season like this from Cal Raleigh again. It’s unreasonable, right? … It’s not just the numbers. It’s the fact that we are talking about Cal Raleigh being up there with Barry Bonds, with Ken Griffey Jr., with Mickey Mantle. These are luminaries in the sport, and he belongs.

“And so when you get a season like that, don’t waste it. Do everything you can, because once October comes around and once that guy steps in the batter’s box, he can do magical things.”

ESPN’s Jeff Passan joins Brock and Salk for a weekly conversation, typically at 8:30 a.m. each Tuesday during the baseball season. Catch Brock and Salk from 6-10 a.m. live weekdays on Seattle Sports.

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