Mariners' Young Position Players Could Be Key to Trade Deadline, Per Jeff Passan of ESPN

Speaking this week on Seattle Sports 710, ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passan says that if the Mariners want to make a splash at the Major League Baseball trade deadline, they may be able to utilize an emerging group of position player prospects to make it happen.

Colt Emerson, of John Glenn, takes a swing during a Division II sectional final against host Morgan. | Sam Blackburn/Times Recorder/2022

The Seattle Mariners have never won the World Series, we all know this. They've never even appeared in one, we all know this too.

With that in mind, any time that the Mariners are close to the playoffs, we as fans want the team to go for it. We felt that way in 2018, and 2021, and 2022, and it's no different this year. As we head into this weekend, the Mariners are in first place in the American League West and the World Champion Texas Rangers and perennial contender Houston Astros are slumping early on. It's time to capitalize on a wide-open division.

However, as the M's are barely over .500 themselves, just doing what they've been doing doesn't appear good enough. Yes, they could wait for the likes of Jorge Polanco and Mitch Garver to live up to the backs of their baseball cards, but they could also be proactive and work to get better by bringing in outside reinforcements.

As we start to think about the trade deadline (July 30), the overwhelming thought has been that if the M's are going to get the offensive help they need, they will have to deal from their starting pitcher pool of Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo or Emerson Hancock. That's a tough pill to swallow for M's fans who have grown accustomed to the team having ace starting pitching and know that it's the bedrock of the organization.

However, speaking this week on Seattle Sports 710, Jeff Passan of ESPN said that M's may not need to go that route to improve:

“They don’t have to make an uncomfortable decision with their starting pitching. They don’t,” Passan told Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. “Whether it is (shortstop) Colt Emerson, who I think the industry believes is is the best prospect in the organization, or (catcher) Harry Ford, who’s really good but kind of blocked (behind Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh) – and you could potentially move Harry Ford to another position, he’s enough of an athlete where he doesn’t need to be a catcher. (Outfielder) Lazaro Montes has taken a big leap forward this year and people love him. (Shortstop) Felnin Celesten and (outfielder Jonny) Farmelo, too.”

The AL is wide open, ESPN's Jeff Passan said, and the M's may not need to trade a pitcher to take advantage.

"There’s an argument to be made the position-playing prospects in the #Mariners organization are the best," he told @BrockHuard & @TheMikeSalk.https://t.co/bmdPopt9CP

— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) May 14, 2024

Cole Young is currently the No. 1 prospect in the organization and he, Emerson, Ford and Montes all rank in the MLB Top 100 prospects, so perhaps Passan is onto something. For the first time in years, the M's system is loaded with hitting prospects, and those guys just might be able to net you what you need if you want to go all in, without having to touch your pitching depth that you so value.

The Mariners will enjoy an off day on Thursday before traveling to Baltimore for a weekend series with the Baltimore Orioles.