Popular Baseball Podcaster Calls For M's to Add Offensive Pieces; Says Rotation is WS Ready
According to popular baseball podcaster/personality Ben Verlander, the Seattle Mariners are absolutely a playoff contender.
The M's lead the American League West by 4.5 games over the Houston Astros (who employ Verlander's brother Justin) but have seen their lead fall from 10.0 games in just over a week. Even despite that, Verlander says they are a contender and that they have a ready-made World Series rotation that is worth investing around.
He says in order to do that, the M's need to go out and get major impact bats at the trade deadline. With so few sellers around baseball, it's hard to know who is truly available, but he mentions Pete Alonso and J.D. Martinez of the New York Mets as the types of bats who would impact the M's.
You can listen to his full thoughts below:
10 days ago the Seattle Mariners had a 10 game lead over the Houston Astros in the AL West.
— Flippin' Bats Podcast (@FlippinBatsPod) June 28, 2024
That’s now down to 4.5 games.
Are the Mariners a playoff contender? @BenVerlander has thoughts. pic.twitter.com/cVpqhHAZGZ
Verlander is right in that the M's need offensive help. They rank near the bottom in several offensive categories and are on pace for the worst batting average in team history (.219). However, the issue with some of these potential moves is that the M's roster doesn't have much flexibility. If the M's acquire Alonso or any first baseman for that matter, what happens to Ty France? What happens to Mitch Garver, who has been playing designated hitter? If the M's want to play France at DH or Alonso at DH, that creates an issue.
Furthermore, the same thing happens if they acquire Martinez, who also can only play DH. You would be relegating someone you like and are paying, like Garver, to a bench role. Garver has also actually started to turn his season around, hitting four homers over his last 15 games.
The M's enter play on Friday at 46-37 and they will have just over one month to decide what they are doing at the deadline.
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