The trade deadline is coming up and with the Pit rates playing better than they have in years, they need to make some moves and some names that have come up include Justin Morneau and Kendrys Morales, while other teams are looking at names like Cliff Lee, Giancarlo Stanton, Chase Utley as well as Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford.
According to Jeff Passan at Yahoo, those are all names that may come up in talks and some of the biggest teams looking to deal with be the Chicago Cubs, White Sox, Seattle Mariners, Miami Marlins, Brewers, Twins, NY Mets and the Houston Astros among others. Those teams are looking at lost seasons and with some contenders looking for depth, pitching and hitting, general managers are already starting to spin the wheels on potential moves.
Mariners General manager Jack Zduriencik has been putting together a plan for five years to get the team back to respectability and so far that has not worked, meaning he may try to pry away a prospect or two for some of his veteran players. The trade season has already started with Scott Feldman and Ricky Nolasco being moved and now that the Mariners have young stars like Nick Franklin, Brad Miller and Erasmo Ramirez with the big team, the vets might be on the way out.
The Seattle Mariners have had a tough season and are sitting nine games under .500 as the trade deadline approaches and while the team has played better over the past week, there is a good chance a number of their players will be dealt to contenders, most likely Raul Ibanez, Kendrys Morales, Michael Morse, Hisashi Iwakuma, Oliver Perez and Brendan Ryan.
Ibanez has shown that old age is no issue for him as he has hit 22 home runs and is leading the team in that and RBIs as well, with the only other solid hitter being Kyle Seager. Iwakuma likely isn't going anywhere as he has been a top of the line starter, but since he is tops in ERA there is a chance someone could try to pry him from the Mariners.
Ryan is easily the top guy to go for a team that needs defense, as the Mariners brought up young star Brad Miller and they appear ready to give him the full chance to start. Michael Morse has been hurt since getting off to his amazing start but for a team that needs a bat, he could be one to go as well. Perez should have made the All Star team based on the way he has pitched in the second half and any team that needs relief could be in the market for him as well.
The Tigers, Yankees, Cardinals and many other teams could come calling for the Mariners and even six wins in seven games likely won't stop the team from dealing. They are over 12 games back in the division after sniffing .500 earlier in the season and the team isn't getting much better. They rank 28th in runs and 27th in batting average and are just 23rd and 18th in on base and slugging percentage in the league.
