Seattle Mariners Trade Rumors: What If Team Stands Pat?

Here is a crazy thought for you. What if, after weeks of speculation and “inside” information on possible trades, the Seattle Mariners end up doing…nothing.

Possible? Absolutely. Likely? To be determined.

Obviously some fans are going to come to the conclusion that the Mariners have to make a move. After all, this is the best baseball that the Emerald City has seen in a number of years. In addition, the Oakland A’s are making moves. Don’t the Mariners have to counter?

There are certainly some scenarios in which the Mariners make a deal, but it would also not be a shock if the team stood pat. After all, look at how this team has been constructed.

Management has given a number of players a lot of room to grow. Kyle Seager has been a success. There have also been signs of growth from Mike Zunino, Brad Miller, Michael Saunders and even Dustin Ackley. Justin Smoak…not as much. Certainly the growth has been inconsistent, and there are some doubts as to whether certain players will ever fully develop into strong, everyday players.

Still, the point is that the Mariners have tried really hard to build a team from the ground up. The move to sign Robinson Cano was an acknowledgement that the franchise needed a spark and some star power.

However, the rest of the lineup has been given the benefit of the doubt for quite some time. Would management start tossing homegrown talent at this point? Again, possible. But, Jack Zduriencik may still have faith that his grand experiment is going to work.

Despite a general sense from the baseball world that the Mariners need another bat, they are in a playoff spot right now. Do you mess with the chemistry, even if the current lineup is not exactly an offensive force?

What must be remembered is that there are pros and cons to moving players. An upgrade is not always a guarantee, and sometimes a team has to trade certain strengths in order to get other abilities.

This may be the year that the Mariners make a move, but don’t be flabbergasted if they don’t.