Colorado Rockies: Why the Seattle Mariners are a trade fit for Trevor Story, Jon Gray, and others

The Seattle Mariners are a bit of an enigma. They are dead last in baseball in batting average, on-base percentage, and 26th in slugging percentage. They are 22nd in starting pitcher ERA and their bullpen ERA is 12th in baseball. By their -53 run differential, they should be a team that is 44-55. For comparison, the Colorado Rockies run differential is -57 and they should be a team that they are: 43-55.

But, entering Sunday, the Mariners have a record of 53-46, which is good enough for third place in the AL West, as they are seven games back of the Houston Astros for the AL West lead but only 2.5 games back of the second Wild Card spot.

Knowing the history of their general manager (and former Rockies front office executive and relief pitcher) Jerry Dipoto, the Mariners could make a ton of moves before the July 30 trade deadline and if you look at the stats, the Mariners could use a lot of moves.

How the Seattle Mariners are a fit for Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story

In theory, the Seattle Mariners are not a fit for Trevor Story because their everyday shortstop, J.P. Crawford, is one of, if not, their best players. By rWAR, Crawford has been their best player. He is third among qualifiers on the Mariners in OPS+ at 99 (which further shows how poor their offense has been).

But considering how crafty Dipoto is and the rumors flying that at least one MLB team is interested in Trevor Story as a center fielder, the Mariners very well could be that team.

The Seattle Mariners could also be a fit for some other Colorado Rockies players

Another player that the Seattle Mariners might be interested in is first baseman C.J. Cron. Ty France is their everyday first baseman and he has been one of their best bats (123 OPS+ on the season) but he is versatile.

He has extensive experience at second and third base, including 19 games at second base this year. With the veteran Kyle Seager manning third base, France could slide over to second. The other option is that he and Cron could split time between first base and DH.

The Mariners primary DH has been Luis Torrens. Torrens is primarily a catcher so the Mariners have three catchers on their roster (and currently, only a three-man bench). Both prospect Cal Raleigh (Mariners #6 prospect) and former Rockies catcher Tom Murphy have not particularly played well (Raleigh has only played in seven games but he’s hitting .130 and Murphy is hitting .197).

Torrens doesn’t have a high batting average (.226) but his OPS (.767) is 111 points higher than Murphy’s. So either Raleigh could be optioned or Murphy DFA’d. The other serves as Torrens back-up.

It should be noted too that C.J. Cron was the first baseman for the Angels in 2014 and 2015. The Angels GM at the time? Jerry Dipoto.

The Seattle Mariners could also use some starting rotation help from the Rockies as well

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The Mariners starting staff is not great, as Justus Sheffield (brother of Rockies reliever, Jordan) has struggled and is on the IL. Fort Collins native, Marco Gonzales (son of Rockies Double-A pitching coach Frank Gonzales), has struggled as well. Rockies starting pitcher Jon Gray would likely become their ace or second starter behind Yusei Kikuchi.

As we mentioned earlier, their starter’s ERA is 22nd so there is great room for improvement.

Our colleagues at SoDo Mojo recently looked at some trade proposals for Jon Gray and there’s at least one of them that we believe would get the job done.

Relievers Daniel Bard and Mychal Givens could also give them a veteran presence in their bullpen, a bullpen that has five pitchers that have three or fewer years of service time.

The Mariners also only have four relievers with an ERA+ of 100 or better than have at least 20 innings pitched. Bard and Givens fall into that category as well.

Considering Dipoto’s relationship with the Rockies (player from 1997-2000, special assistant to Dan O’Dowd 2001-2002, and Rockies Director of Player Personnel 2005), he has first-hand experience with many of the people in the Rockies front office.

Will all five of Story, Cron, Gray, Bard, and Givens be traded to the Mariners? Probably not, but Jerry Dipoto has made crazier trades before. And trading all five could be the best way for the Rockies to get more quality prospects back in return. The Mariners have the prospects to pull it off as Baseball America ranked their system the second-best in baseball prior to the start of 2021.

With the needs that the Mariners have, that prior experience with the Rockies, drive for the Mariners to reach the playoffs in more than 20 years, and replenishment of the Rockies farm system could be enough to get a deal done that will benefit both teams.