Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto has already made multiple trades this offseason as the always active front office head looks to build a playoff team in the Pacific Northwest.
With Seattle missing out on the postseason by a mere one game this past year, most of Dipoto’s time has been spent cutting payroll.
That recently included sending former to prospect, outfielder Jarred Kelenic, to the Atlanta Braves in a deal that ridded Seattle of the contracts of pitcher Marco Gonzales and first baseman Evan White.
While it might have been a bitter pill to swallow when it came to trading Kelenic after he was the centerpiece returning to Seattle in the 2018 blockbuster that sent Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano to the Mets, the outfielder had not panned out.
By virtue of trading Eugenio Suárez to the Arizona Diamondbacks in November and non-tendering Teoscar Hernández, the Mariners have needs for a few position players with the MLB Winter Meetings playing out.
According to this note from MLB Network insider Jon Heyman, San Diego Padres star outfielder Juan Soto could be an option on the trade market.
It’s looking more and more like San Diego is going to trade the star player as way to cut payroll after taking out a loan from MLB last season. Seattle would obviously be an ideal fit after the trades of Kelenic and Suárez.
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Seattle Mariners active on MLB trade front
Another report indicates that Seattle is in conversations with the Tampa Bay Rays about outfielder Randy Arozarena and third baseman Isaac Paredes. Both might actually be better fits for Seattle than Soto given his status as a free agent after the 2024 season.
Arozarena, 28, is just now entering his second year of arbitration. He hit .253 with 23 homers, 83 RBI and 22 steals while boasting a solid .789 OPS last season. As for the 24-year-old Paredes, he’s under team control through the 2026 season. The youngster hit 31 homers with 98 RBI and an .840 OPS last season.
The expectation is that Seattle will use its surplus of young pitching to add a premium bat to the mix. While the team is still supposedly in on Shohei Ohtani, it stands to reason that going this route makes the most sense.
