Jerry Dipoto’s Eight-Pitcher Count Shows Why the Mariners Could Trade a Starter for a Bat

“We’re eight deep in my mind on the pitching side,” Jerry Dipoto said at the GM meetings. We figured Ryan Sloan would be part of that count. The name that made us go back and count for ourselves was Logan Evans.

Evans is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery. The fact that Dipoto already includes him among the pitchers Seattle believes can give it big-league innings tells us something about how the Mariners are planning for 2027. They may be more willing to move an established starter than we initially figured.

We already have a pretty good idea where those conversations would start. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times identified George Kirby and Emerson Hancock as the two starters most likely to move this winter. Seattle discussed both with other clubs before the deadline, even after sending Luis Castillo to the White Sox and opening a rotation spot for Kade Anderson. Dipoto said teams have already called about Seattle’s starters again this offseason.

George Kirby and Emerson Hancock Are the Mariners’ Trade Names to Watch

Kirby’s the one who would probably attract the biggest bat. He has two years of club control left, and there’s a reason another team would bet on him pitching like a front-end starter again. His 4.33 ERA gives that club room to haggle. It also gives Seattle a reason to be patient. If Kirby rebounds here, the Mariners get those starts at a time when Anderson is still settling in and Logan Gilbert is entering his final season before free agency. We’d need to see a hitter who can change the middle of the order before giving up that kind of insurance.

Hancock is the call we’d make first. He spent 2026 showing he could handle a midrotation job. For stretches, he was the Mariners’ most consistent arm. That gives Seattle a real piece to bargain with, and we’d start at third base. An everyday third baseman with a decent glove and enough pop would give the Mariners another spot in the order that opposing pitchers have to work through. We’d make that trade for a player we can pencil in six days a week. A platoon bat would leave us looking for a third baseman and a starter the next time somebody gets hurt.

What Logan Evans Can Give the Mariners After a Trade

Evans made 15 starts as a rookie in 2025 and finished with a 4.32 ERA over 81 1/3 innings across 16 appearances. He struck out 59, walked 31 and gave up 13 homers. The home runs show how quickly that can get expensive. Even so, Seattle got more than 80 big-league innings from him.

Trade Kirby or Hancock and Seattle still has five projected starters, with Anderson entering his first full big-league season and Bryce Miller coming off a rough second half. Sloan still has to pitch his way up, and Evans has to build back to a starter’s workload after a year away. If somebody goes down in camp, Seattle may need to find a sixth starter before either is ready. A healthy Evans could give the Mariners a way through the next injury without asking Anderson or Miller to pitch on short rest or leaning on the bullpen for half a game.

That’s enough to make them more comfortable dealing Hancock for the right third baseman. Kirby would take a bigger offer, because we’d be giving up the chance to get front-end innings from him for two more seasons. Dipoto has reason to stay on the phone about both.

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