Five Relievers to Target in a Mariners Trade

“Now is about when the Mariners go in the tank. People are starting to believe…23^rd or worse in all key hitting stats and they are still winning. Can the hitting get worse?”

This is a text from one of my good friends and casual Mariners fan who has lived in Seattle his entire life. He captures the essence of nearly every Mariners fan I know. There are two key parts. First, the Mariners are going to let us down. Second, the Mariners cannot hit.

Both of these may be true which is why most fans are clamoring for a big trade in July for an impact bat. As Kevin outlined in his trade targets post, there are some names that will excite Seattleites more than the opening of a new Ethan Stowell restaurant. Names like Vlad Jr, Isaac Paredes, Luis Robert and Bo Bichette will be the chatter on sports talk radio until the deadline. But for the Mariners to really make a push in the second half and into the postseason, they need to shore up an area of weakness that is talked about much less than runs scored. They need a better bullpen.

On the surface, the bullpen is doing just fine. With the 15^th best ERA in baseball (3.83), 10^th best xFIP (3.82), and 8^th best K/9 (9.23), it might seem rash to trade any prospects for a reliever. Yet anyone who watches the Mariners every day has to be concerned as Andres Munoz’s availability is tenuous at best (back issue), Ryen Stanek is currently the closer, and it is anyone’s guess who serves as bridge or set up guys to get to those two. For example, Austin Voth is an option that Scott Servais seems to prefer in a set up role but his BABIP of .184 doesn’t seem likely to hold up with a FIP of 4.36 (while his ERA is only 3.03).

Gabe Speier may start playing catch soon and Gregory Santos is progressing, but that means the Mariners are banking on both coming back healthy and ready to roll in July sometime. The reality is the Mariners need to make this bullpen lights out. Dominant bullpens win games in the postseason when starters have already thrown nearly 200 innings (or often more – hello Zac Gallen in 2023!). With that in mind, here are five targets to bridge the gap between a ridiculous rotation and Munoz/Stanek in the 9^th.

Michael Kopech, Chicago White Sox

Go google Michael Kopech and trades. I will wait the couple hours while you read every article from every team who might need a reliever. And there is a reason for this interest. Kopech, despite a failed attempt at starting and subpar numbers as a reliever, has intriguing stuff. With fastball velocity averaging nearly 99 MPH and a whiff percentage of 31%, Kopech profiles like a back end stud. The problem is that he has a 1.48 WHIP and thus gets himself in trouble. The Mariners love fixing a reliever with good stuff. Kopech would be really good in Seattle.

Arbitration Eligible in 2025. Free Agent in 2026.  

Fernando Cruz, Cincinnati Reds

It seems unlikely that the Cincinnati Reds are going to trade their primary set up guy when they are hovering around .500. While the Reds are in last place in the NL Central, every National League team not named the Marlins or Rockies are in the playoff race. Seriously, go look. This logjam either means that teams won’t sell because they are hopeful for a playoff push or someone takes advantage of that market and looks for young talent. The Reds just might decide that there are too many teams in the mix and thus go looking for an old trade partner. Plus relievers are replaceable from year to year (the Mariners are the biggest proof that this is true).

For the Mariners, Cruz is intriguing because of his splitter. It is a legit out pitch to go with a 94 MPH fastball. The M’s are intrigued by guys with a legit out pitch in addition to some heat. Cruz’s market should be less than Kopech but the Reds are less likely to part with him. While the Mariners always seem to find a guy in the offseason, the time is now to pounce on this market to shore up a bullpen missing Brash, Santos and Speier.

Arbitration Eligible in 2026. Free Agent in 2029.  

Tanner Scott, Miami Marlins

Here is another name that will be linked to every contending team between now and the end of July. Scott has some nice numbers from the back of a baseball card (1.74 ERA) but the underlying stats indicate a down year. His K/9 is under 10 for the first time in his career and his BABIP is stupid low at .181. His slider velocity is down nearly two miles per hour which probably explains its lack of effectiveness compared to awesome rates in 2023. Scott seems like another guy the Mariners would make a minor tweak to and get that slider back on track. The Marlins have no reason to keep this guy and he will likely be traded somewhere this summer.

Free Agent in 2025.  

Pete Fairbanks, Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays are in a tough spot as they are only five games out of a wild card spot and generally competitive every year. But they also need a re-boot to get back to a World Series contender. The losses of Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell combined with the injury to Shane McClanahan simply make the Rays not good enough in 2024. And the Rays don’t mess around when they know they aren’t good enough.

Fairbanks has been their closer and a really good one the past few years. However, the Rays don’t stick with one closer. They have moved guys in and out of that spot within a season and from year to year. Fairbanks is also struggling more this year as his fastball velocity is down and people are hitting it at a clip of .289 collectively. Compare that to an average of .151 in 2023 (with a higher velo) and it is clear that Fairbanks isn’t the same dude. However, his slider is still elite and barring an injury taking away that velo, I’d love to see him in the 7^th inning in Seattle.

Contract through 2025 with a club option for 2026.

@breakingbatspodRays Pete Fairbanks on his devastating slider #rays #tampabayrays #raysup #mlb #baseball #slider #fyp

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Austin Adams, Oakland Athletics

While the A’s had a nice opening to the season and stayed competitive for awhile, there is no clearer team that will sell at the deadline than Oakland (sorry Sacramento) (sorry Las Vegas). Mason Miller is the dream – like DREAM – but I don’t see why the A’s would ship him away at this point. But 33 year old Austin Adams is not necessary for future Sacramento plans.

Adams is good but suffers from unlucky BABIP (.375 this year and .333 last year) and a slider that isn’t as good in 2024. If you study Adams’s slider, he is getting the same drop, less hard-hit percentage, and better whiff percentage than 2023 on the same pitch. He just is getting unlucky this season. I gotta be honest - Adams and his slider might be my number one pick on this list. Let everyone else chase Kopech and let’s trade our #20 prospect for Austin Adams.  

And if you remember Austin Adams playing on the Mariners in 2019, good for you (acquired for Nick Wells). Also good for you knowing that Adams was dealt away in the 7-player trade that brought Andres Munoz and Ty France to Seattle.

Arbitration Eligible in 2025. Free Agent in 2026.