The Atlanta Braves have been getting terrible production from Dan Uggla and with the Seattle Mariners dealing with injuries in their rotation, the two teams could fit in a trade, as the M's have prospect Nick Franklin at second base and he could be moved to the NL for some young pitching, with names like Mike Minor or Alex Wood as possible options if a deal went down.
The Mariners have been able to stay afloat and above .500 into the month of May despite having Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton and Taijuan Walker on the disabled list at various times and that could prompt the team to make a move. According to SI.com, the team could try and acquire Minor or Wood for Nick Franklin and while the Mariners like Franklin as a prospect, right now he doesn't have a position with Robinson Cano at second base and Brad Miller at shortstop and that is why the team may consider trading him at some point.
Hardball Talk reported during the offseason that the Mariners were looking to trade Franklin and while teams like the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles were interested, the team did not find a deal it liked. The Mariners are very high on Franklin, who has some power for a shortstop/second baseman and while he played well at times last season, there was no way he was going to play with Mr. Ironman Robinson Cano at second and he also lost a spot at short, as Brad Miller beat him out in the spring.
Heading into this next stretch of the season it will be very interesting to see what the Mariners do regarding Franklin and Miller, as Miller is hitting under .200 and has looked lost at the plate. The team likes his defense, but Lloyd McClendon can only go so long with him in the lineup and that could be one reason for a holdup on a Franklin trade. The Mariners could bring up Franklin, who is tearing it up in Triple A with a .350 average, but his fielding has been called into question a bit and so has his effort in recent games.
David Schoenfield wrote a great article for ESPN.com about what the Braves should do with Uggla and while he realizes it would hurt a ton, he suggested cutting him simply to get him out of the lineup with the way he has been producing over the past few years. Uggla once made an All Star team as a rookie with the Marlins and looked like he could be the best power hitting second baseman in baseball, but he has simply lost his way, hitting .179 last season and struggling again this year. The Mariners may not want him, but they could take him off the hands of the Braves to get some extra younger pitching to add to the system.
The Mariners have to back themselves up with Miller and that could be a reason why they don't pull off a trade, but if they can get Wood or Minor, it might be worth it. The Mariners are about to get back Taijuan Walker and James Paxton and adding more young pitching to the rotation could be huge for the team this season.
