Seattle Mariners Listed as Favorite For Star Player on Trade Market as Rumors Heat Up
As trade rumors swirl ahead of the July 30 trade deadline, the Seattle Mariners are reportedly the favorites to land star Jazz Chisholm in a deal from the Miami Marlins.
This report came on Sunday from Bob Nightengale of USA Today:
The Miami Marlins have been hoping they could trade center fielder Jazz Chisholm all season, with the Seattle Mariners emerging as the favorites to land him.
There's a few different things to consider with this potential deal, so let's take a look.
WHY IT MAKES SENSE FOR THE MARINERS:
First off, Chisholm is a good, and fun, player. He's hitting .251 this season with 12 homers and 18 stolen bases. He's a player that would add to the Mariners' ailing offense, providing it with a speed and power threat, and for a team that is looking to be athletic and versatile, he does just that.
Furthermore, he's under team control through 2026, so for a team that has a hard time and an aversion to signing free agent hitters, this would give the M's 2.5 years of team control. He's also only 26 years old, meaning he's not even in his prime yet, which the M's love.
WHY it's RISKY FOR THE MARINERS
There is certainly a risk in trading too much to get Chisholm. Given the age and team control, the Marlins know his value and will want to extract quite a bit from the Mariners. Seattle has eight Top 100 prospects, according to Baseball America, and the Marlins will likely want multiple of them.
Furthermore, Chisholm has been inconsistent. He's a lifetime .250 hitter who has never hit more than 18 home runs. He was also injured for a susbstantial portion of the 2023 season and carries risk there.
OTHER NOTES
Chisholm has been playing centerfield for Miami but came up as a second baseman. Given that Seattle already has Julio Rodriguez in center, Chisholm would seem likely to move back to second, but what would that mean for Jorge Polanco?
The Mariners play the Angels on Sunday at 1:07 p.m. PT.
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