The Seattle Mariners have been acting as sellers ahead of the MLB trade deadline on Tuesday, flipping multiple impact players amid a disappointing season. With Seattle committed to selling off proven talent, the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies are reportedly among the teams making calls.
Seattle won’t be tearing apart its core at the trade deadline, but non-essential players and those on expiring contracts are available. It reflects a 2023 season that hasn’t gone according to plan for the Mariners. Further down in the MLB standings than anyone expected in August, Seattle is now getting whatever value it can out of players before they depart in free agency this winter.
Related: MLB trade tracker
According to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, Mariners’ outfielder Teoscar Hernandez is drawing significant interest from the Giants, Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays. The 2021 All-Star selection is increasingly likely to be traded, with at least a half-dozen teams calling Seattle about his availability.
- Teoscar Hernanez stats (2023): .238.288/.406, 93 wRC+, 16 home runs, 59 RBI, .694 OPS
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With many of the top outfielders on the trade block either taken off the table (Cody Bellinger) or already moved (Mark Canha, Randal Grichuk), Hernandez is one of the best players available at the trade deadline. However, the cost to acquire him projects to be significantly less than what he was traded for less than a year ago.
Examining Teoscar Hernandez’s trade value
Hernandez has been extremely inconsistent at the plate this season. Through the first month of the season, he slashed .209/.248/./427 with a 32.5 percent strikeout rate, .675 OPS and only a 1.7 percent walk rate. However, the 2021 All-MLB Second Team selection showed improvement after that.
Across 215 plate appearances from May through June, Hernandez raises his walk rate (7.9 percent) and delivered a .276/.330/.459 slash line with 30 RBI, a 120 wRC+ and a.789 OPS. But his production has dipped over the last month, evidenced by his .200/.248/.286 slash line in July with a 31 percent strikeout rate.
The Mariners are likely going to receive significantly less for Hernandez than they paid for him this winter. Seattle acquired Hernandez coming off a season with a 129 wRC+ and .807 OPS with the Toronto Blue Jays. He had a full season left on his contract and was coming off three consecutive years with a .800-plus OPS.
An impending free agent, Hernandez’s trade value is drastically lowered because he’s only under contract for half a season and he’s a below-average outfielder defensively. However, after trading away Paul Sewald and AJ Pollock, the Mariners’ front office has already signaled its selling.
Related: MLB power rankings
For contenders, Hernandez represents an excellent buy-low player. From 2020-’22, he earned multiple MVP votes and was responsible for a .283/.333/.519 slash line with a .852 OPS and 73 home runs in 324 games. If Hernandez can come anywhere close to that production with a new team, he would be one of the biggest additions of the 2023 MLB trade deadline.