Morosi: 2 impacts stand out from Mariners’ trade deadline moves

It’s no secret that the Seattle Mariners are considered one of the big winners at this year’s trade deadline.

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The Mariners were long linked to impact bats Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor, and they acquired each in separate trades with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The M’s also needed bullpen help, and they got some reinforcement by trading for left-hander Caleb Ferguson from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The bats were the big adds for a Seattle lineup that had largely outperformed expectations despite having plenty of inconsistencies, but still needed help.

They were also the center of attention when MLB Network insider Jon Morosi joined Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob for his weekly conversation on the M’s. Morosi shared two big impacts he sees from the Mariners’ deals.

Impacts of M’s trades

It’s quite obvious that the additions of Suárez (138 wRC+) and Naylor (121 wRC+) add All-Star-caliber hitters to the top of the Mariners’ lineup.

However, it’s not just the production those players bring that caught Morosi’s attention. It’s the way their presences can impact every at-bat throughout game. Morosi likened it to additions the 2012 World series champion San Francisco Giants and 2015 World Series champion Kansas City Royals made.

“Sometimes the right player added into a lineup changes the entire at-bat quality of the rest of the guys, and I remember I saw this when the Giants signed for Hunter Pence back in 2012, when they got Marco Scutaro as well,” Morosi said. “There are certain players who just change the dynamics of a team, and that was true for that team. It was also true, by the way, for the Kansas City Royals when they got Ben Zobrist 10 years ago. He changed that lineup. It’s a different at-bat quality.

“Especially when you’ve got (Jorge) Polanco batting sixth, it’s something different than when Polanco’s batting third, which was initially the way that they wanted to use him when they first acquired him before last season. We talked about J.P. Crawford. When Crawford’s your eighth-place hitter and then (Cole) Young bats ninth … it just lessens the pressure on them, it frees them up.”

The other impact Morosi brought up pertained specifically to what Naylor brings to the table. Despite having 3rd percentile sprint speed, per Baseball Savant, Naylor has stolen 17 bases this season. Between Randy Arozarena, Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez and Naylor, the Mariners have four players capable of hitting 20 or more home runs while also being threats to steal bases.

“A game like this with Arozarena batting leadoff, Raleigh second, J-Rod third and then Naylor fourth, yeah, those guys are all hitting at the moment. They also are stolen-base threats,” Morosi said. “… Arozarena (has) 21 stolen bases, Raleigh 12, J-Rod 21, Naylor 17. When the top of your lineup can hit the ball over the fence and can steal bases, it really catalyzes your team in a way that I think bodes very well for success in the month of October.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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