Mariners Trade Proposal Sends $33 Million Shortstop to Seattle in 2-Player Swap

Since the Toronto Blue Jays are off to a disappointing start, rumors are flying about them potentially becoming sellers ahead of the July 30 trade deadline. Bo Bichette is one player who has seen his name surface in the rumor mill. Could a scenario develop where the shortstop lands with the Seattle Mariners?

Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer ranked 10 potential landing spots for Bichette amid the latest rumors. He ranked Seattle as the second-best destination. Here’s the hypothetical trade proposal he created:

• Mariners receive: shortstop Bo Bichette
• Blue Jays receive: shortstop prospect Colt Emerson

This type of deal would potentially give Toronto its shortstop of the future. Emerson is just 18 years old and currently in Single-A. However, MLB.com ranks him as Seattle’s third-best prospect in 2024.

Bichette’s first 218 plate appearances of the season haven’t gone according to plan. He’s hitting .251/.298/.365 with four home runs, nine doubles, 25 RBI and 19 runs scored. Recent production has shown that the shortstop’s .663 OPS will likely improve at some point, though. He’s never finished with an OPS worse than .802 and has produced three straight seasons of at least 20 homers, 73 RBI, 30 doubles and 175 total hits.

Bichette is under contract through 2025 on a three-year, $33.6 million deal.

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Would the Mariners Acquire Bichette to Take J.P. Crawford’s Place?

J.P. Crawford is Seattle’s current starting shortstop. His first 139 plate appearances also haven’t gone well. He’s hitting .211/.295/.333 with three homers, 11 RBI and 18 runs scored.

However, Crawford is not far removed from a career year in the batter’s box. He set personal-best marks for batting average (.266), on-base percentage (.380), slugging percentage (.438) and OPS (.818) in 2023. Combining this with solid defense helped him place 16th in the 2023 American League MVP Award voting, per Baseball Reference.

While explaining his reasoning, Rymer suggested a move to second base for Bichette. “And with Jorge Polanco having gone on the injured list with a tight hamstring, Seattle’s offense is down a key man,” he said.

“Of course, Polanco was a key man only in the abstract. It’s largely because of him that the Mariners’ second basemen have just a .618 OPS, as he was hitting only .195 with a .595 OPS. This is to imply that Bichette would play second in deference to J.P. Crawford, a good defender who had a .380 OBP last year. In any case, Bichette’s 14.4 strikeout percentage would be welcome in an offense that has a league-high 27.7 K%.”

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Seattle Needs to Take Advantage of the Current Situation

The Mariners qualified for the postseason in 2022 and just missed snagging an AL Wild Card spot in 2023. That has typically been their best bet at playing in October recently since the American League West has been dominated by the Houston Astros. They’ve won the division title six times since 2017. Along with the Texas Rangers winning the 2023 World Series, it seemed like this year would be another uphill climb for Seattle.

But that’s not the case two months into the regular season. As of May 30, the Mariners are the only AL West team with a winning record. Seattle is 31-26 and owns a 3.5-game cushion atop the division.

It would be wise for president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto to find a way to boost an offense that has struggled to start 2024. Seattle’s 95 wRC+ as a team ranks 23rd in baseball, per FanGraphs. Acquiring Bichette would be a creative way to strengthen the current roster, as well as the 2025 squad.

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