10 potential trade targets for the Colorado Rockies from the Seattle Mariners

The Colorado Rockies could target an old friend: Seattle Mariners catcher Tom Murphy

For the Colorado Rockies fans that are “Tom Murphy guys” out there, this would be a welcome a return. Murphy, who turns 31 in April, has been with the Seattle Mariners since 2019 and he has been much better with the Mariners than he was at the end of his time with the Rockies.

In parts of four seasons with the Rockies at the major league level (81 games), Murphy only hit .219/.271/.439 with an OPS+ of 75 and a 0.2 fWAR. Since joining the Mariners, in two seasons (he didn’t play in 2020 due to injury), he has hit .236/.313/.439 with an OPS+ of 106 in 172 games.

His 2019 season was much better than his 2021 season but still, for a backup catcher, Murphy’s 2021 would be an improvement for them at the position.

• 2019: 75 games, 18 homers, 40 RBI, .273/.324/.535, 128 OPS+, 7 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), 4 Runs Extra Strikes (RES) 3.2 rWAR
• 2021: 97 games, 11 homers, 34 RBI, .202/.304/.350, 84 OPS+, 1 DRS, -1 RES, 0.9 rWAR

In other words, he was above league average with the offense, defense, and pitch framing (RES) in 2019 but was at or below league average in all areas besides defense with the 1 DRS.

Murphy is arbitration-eligible for the second time this offseason and he is projected to get about $1.7 million in arbitration so he could be a fairly cheap option for the Rockies for both a return in a trade and a montearily.

Seattle may look to trade him since they have pre-arbitration eligible Luis Torrens (102 OPS+ in 108 games last season) and Mariners former #8 prospect entering 2020, Cal Raleigh, as catchers on their 40-man roster as well.

Seattle Mariners infielder Kevin Padlo is somebody the Colorado Rockies are familiar with

Seattle Mariners infielder Kevin Padlo is someone that you probably haven’t heard of before and if you have, you can’t remember quite why you remember the name. The reason why you remember the name (if you do) is because he is a former prospect of the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies traded him to the Tampa Bay Rays all the way back in 2016 along with outfielder Corey Dickerson for a reliever (Jake McGee) and a little-known prospect in Advanced-A ball by the name of Germán Márquez.

Padlo, 25, only had been as high as Single-A when the Rockies traded him to Tampa Bay but he worked his way up to Triple-A prior to the pandemic and, in 2021, he made his MLB debut with Tampa Bay in the majors. But the Mariners claimed him off of waivers in August so now, he is with them.

Padlo mainly plays third base but has also played second and first base so he could be an infield bench bat for now until his bat develops more. He has decent power (20 homers in 95 games in Triple-A in 2021) but he hasn’t been consistent with the average or on-base percentage.

In 2021, he had a an average of .224 and an on-base percentage of .305 at Triple-A. In 2019, though, he had a .290 average and a .400 OBP at Triple-A in 40 games. In 110 total minor league games in 2019 (between Double-A and Triple-A), he hit 21 homers, had 62 RBI, and had a slash line of .265/.389/.530. If he could translate that to the MLB level, he could be a good everyday player for the Rockies.

He was the Rays #19 prospect entering 2020, per MLB.com, so he definitely has some potential.

Seattle Mariners infielder Ty France could also help the Colorado Rockies with an infield bat

Seattle Mariners Ty France could be the most intriguing position player on this list for the Colorado Rockies for a few reasons.

France, 27, had a great year for the Mariners in 2021. He played in 152 games and he hit .291/.368/.445 with an OPS+ of 128. He had 18 homers and 73 RBI with 32 doubles and an MLB leading 27 hit by pitches.

In 2020, he split the season between San Diego and Seattle and he played in 43 games. He hit .305/.368/.468 with four homers, 23 RBI, and an OPS+ of 133.

He could be an asset for the Rockies because, like a few of their current infielders, he can play a few infield positions. He primarily played first base for the Mariners in 2021 (106 games) but he also had extensive playing time at second base and third base as well. Defensively, he is best at first base (at least in 2021) but he has been a good defender at the other positions in past seasons as well.

France also went to school at San Diego State University, where Rockies manager Bud Black went. Black still lives in the San Diego area in the offseason and his connection to San Diego has helped bring some players aboard to the Rockies, including Connor Joe.

But with being pre-arbitration eligible (aka cheap) and one of the best bats for the Mariners, in theory, shouldn’t trade him but Jerry Dipoto has made more surprising trades in his time as a GM with the Mariners or the Angels before that.

Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger could also be a fit for the Colorado Rockies

Mitch Haniger hadn’t been fully healthy for the Seattle Mariners since 2018 but they could try to sell high on him since he was healthy in 2021 and he only has one year remaining before hitting free agency. Since the Colorado Rockies need a bat and some outfielder help, Haniger could be a target.

Haniger, 31, has shown that he is a great player when he is healthy. The problem is that he didn’t play at all in 2020 due to injury and he missed nearly 100 games due to injury in 2019.

In 2021, Haniger was healthy as he played in 157 games and he hit 39 homers and had 100 RBI with a slash line of .253/.318/.485 with an OPS+ of 122. He ended up coming in 20th in AL MVP voting and had a 3.1 rWAR.

In 2019, Haniger hit .220/.314/.463 with 15 homers, 32 RBI, and a 1.5 rWAR in 63 games and in 2018, in 157 games, he had 26 homers and 93 RBI with a .285/.362/.493 slash line and an OPS+ of 139. That was his best season defensively (8 DRS, but he had 11 DRS in right field) as well, which led to him having a 6.5 rWAR season. He was also an All-Star and came in 11th in AL MVP voting that year.

So Haniger would be a good fit for the Rockies in the outfield (probably right field but he has played the other outfield spots) because of his bat but his injury history and one year of controllability are not great but depending on the asking price, the Rockies still should consider him.

The Seattle Mariners trading Marco Gonzales to the Colorado Rockies would make it a homecoming.

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Marco Gonzales is very familiar with the Colorado Rockies organization. Gonzales, who turns 30 in February, was drafted by the Rockies all the way back in 2010 but he didn’t sign, as he decided to pitch for Gonzaga in college but that’s not the only way they are connected.

Marco’s father, Frank, is a coach in the Rockies organization. He was their Double-A pitching coach in 2021 after he was supposed to be their pitching coach in 2020 before the pandemic. He has been a coach in the Rockies organization since 2013 and previously, he was the head baseball coach at Fort Collins High School and a coach with CSU’s club baseball team. Marco is also from Fort Collins himself as he was born there and graduated high school from there.

Gonzales has been the Mariners’ best starter in the last three seasons as, in 2021, he had a 3.96 ERA in 25 starts (105 ERA+). He had a 1.165 WHIP and a 2.5:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In 2020, he led the AL in walk rate (0.8 BB/9) and he had a 3.10 ERA in 11 starts. He had a 3.32 FIP, a 0.947 WHIP, and 8.3 K/9 rate, which is the highest of his career so far.

In 2019, he led the majors in starts (34) and he had a 3.99 ERA. He had a 4.15 FIP, a 109 ERA+, a 1,310 WHIP, and a 2.6:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Gonzales has had one of the lower groundball percentages in baseball since 2019 (his 37.4 percent groundball rate is 53rd-highest out of 60 starters with at least 300 innings pitched since 2019) but considering that he is from Colorado, he should be able to handle pitching at altitude better than most pitchers.

He is on a team-friendly deal as he is entering the second year of a four-year deal worth $30 million (plus a team option for a fifth year), which will make the likelihood of a deal lower and the asking price higher but the Rockies still should consider him.

He was also our choice for one Mariner the Rockies should look at as a trade target back in October.

Seattle Mariners starter Justus Sheffield could be a good starter for the Colorado Rockies

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Justus Sheffield has already bounced around from team to team a few times in his career but, perhaps, a jump to the Colorado Rockies could help him out.

Sheffield, 25, is formerly a top prospect (as high as #43 overall entering 2019 by MLB.com) and has been traded twice in his career. He started off with Cleveland but was traded to the Yankees in 2016 for reliever Andrew Miller. The Yankees traded him to Seattle after the 2018 season for starting pitcher James Paxton.

Sheffield made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2018 before his older brother, Jordan, who is a reliever for the Rockies but Justus has struggled a lot since making his MLB debut.

He only made three appearances (all in relief) in 2018 for the Yankees but had a 10.13 ERA. For Seattle in 2019, he split the season between Double-A, Triple-A, and the majors. He pitched well in Double-A (2.19 ERA in 12 starts) but pitched poorly at Triple-A (6.87 ERA in 13 appearances, 12 of which were starts) and in the majors (5.50 ERA in eight games, seven of which were starts).

In 2020, he was very good at the MLB level as he made 10 starts and had a 3.58 ERA. He had a 119 ERA+, a 3.17 FIP, a 1.301 WHIP, and a reduced walk rate (down from 4.5 BB/9 to 3.3 BB/9).

But in 2021, he was awful as he had a 6.83 ERA in 21 appearances (15 starts) with a high FIP (5.66), a very high WHIP (1.862), a high hit rate (11.8 H/9), a high homer rate (1.6 HR/9), a high walk rate (4.8 BB/9), and a low strikeout rate (7.1 K/9).

However, given his potential, his connection to the team through his brother, and his high groundball rate (48.9 percent), he could be a good “buy low” candidate for the Rockies.

Seattle Mariners reliever Drew Steckenrider could be a bullpen option for the Colorado Rockies

Drew Steckenrider is entering his second season with the Seattle Mariners and after being a fringe reliever for the Miami Marlins in 2019 and being injured for all of 2020, he came a long way to be Seattle’s closer.

Steckenrider, who turns 31 in a few weeks, started off his career with two good seasons with Miami starting in 2017. In 2017, he appeared in 37 games and had a 2.34 ERA, a 3.10 FIP, a 1.385 WHIP, and a great strikeout rate of 14 K/9. In 2018, he appeared in 71 games with a 3.90 ERA with five saves, a 3.62 FIP, a 1.268 WHIP, a better walk rate (3.8 BB/9, which was down from 4.7 BB/9 in 2017), and a good strikeout rate (10.3 K/9).

However, in 2019, he wasn’t good and he was injured (right elbow inflammation). He had a 6.28 ERA (7.96 FIP) with Miami in 15 appearances, which put him on the fringe of their bullpen. That topped off with a 2020 season wiped out by injury meant that he signed a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite with Seattle for 2021.

He made the team and was, arguably, their best reliever. In 62 games, he had an ERA of 2.00. He also had a 3.35 FIP and a 1.02 WHIP. He eventually became their closer after they traded their closer, Kendall Graveman, to their divisional rival, the Houston Astros. Steckenrider recorded 14 saves as he was their closer in their hunt for the playoffs.

Steckenrider is arbitration-eligible for the second time this offseason and is slated to make $2.1 million in arbitration.

Paul Sewald is another reliever with the Seattle Mariners that could help the Colorado Rockies

Like Steckenrider, the Seattle Mariners, essentially, picked Paul Sewald off of the scrap heap from an NL East team and he ended up flourishing with them.

Sewald, 31, had a 3.06 ERA in 62 games and he had 11 saves with the Mariners in 2021. He also had a 136 ERA+, a 3.08 FIP, a 1.021 WHIP, a very low hit rate (5.3 H/9), a good walk rate (3.3 BB/9), and a phenomenal strikeout rate (14.5 K/9).

He was with the New York Mets in parts of four seasons from 2017 through 2020 and he was not very good, as he bounced between Triple-A and the majors. In 125 games, he had a 5.50 ERA, a 73 ERA+, a 1.364 WHIP, 3.1 walks, and 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings. However, his 4.04 FIP suggests that he had a lot of bad luck with the Mets. However, he obviously had a much better season in 2021 with Seattle.

Sewald also went to school at the University of San Diego and the Rockies have plenty of connections, as we mentioned earlier with Ty France.

He is eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason and he is slated to make roughly $1.8 million in it so he could be a relatively cheap option for payroll and in a trade for the Rockies to look at when the lockout ends.

Seattle Mariners reliever Casey Sadler could also help the Colorado Rockies bullpen

Casey Sadler is another reliever that was, essentially, on the scrap heap before the Seattle Mariners picked him up (but in Sadler’s case, in 2020) and in 2021, he had a great season for them. He could also be an asset for the Colorado Rockies.

Sadler, 31, has bounced around a lot as he has played with five teams in the majors in parts of six seasons.

In 2021, he made 42 appearances with the Mariners and he only allowed three earned runs in 40 1/3 innings, for an ERA of 0.67. He had a FIP of 2.48, a WHIP of 0.719, a walk rate of 2.2 BB/9, and a strikeout rate of 8.3 K/9.

He could be an asset for the Rockies as he is a big groundball pitcher. Among relievers with at least 100 innings pitched since 2019, Sadler’s groundball percentage of 53 percent is the 20th-highest in baseball. In addition, it was even higher in 2021 when he pitched so well (62.9 percent).

Sadler is also from Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Rockies have long been fans of their Oklahomans, whether they have been born, went to high school in, and/or went to college in Oklahoma. They include Jon Gray, Jeff Salazar, Cory Sullivan, Ryan Vilade, Chi Chi González, and Matt Holliday, who also is from Stillwater (but a different high school).

He is arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason and projected to get about $1.3 million.

Seattle Mariners reliever Diego Castillo would be a power arm in the Colorado Rockies bullpen

Diego Castillo was acquired by the Seattle Mariners from the Tampa Bay Rays last season and he has been one of the best relievers in baseball in recent years.

Castillo, who turns 28 next month, has been in the majors for under four seasons and he has had a good year in each season he has been in the majors. In 2021, he appeared in 61 games and he had an ERA of 2.78 (147 ERA+). He had a FIP of 3.47, a WHIP of 0.977, a good walk rate (2.6 BB/9), and a great strikeout rate (11.6 K/9).

In 2020 with Tampa, he had a 1.66 ERA in 22 games with a 1.062 WHIP but his walk rate was at its highest and his strikeout rate at the lowest point in his career. But in 2018 (his rookie year) and 2019, he posted ERA’s that were below 3.50 (in 108 appearances between the two seasons) with FIP’s below 3.75, an average WHIP of 1.109, a walk rate of around three per nine innings, and about 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

Really, the Rockies would have to have a reliever that is as consistently good as Castillo has been. He also has closing experience, as he was Tampa Bay’s closer in 2021 before they traded him to Seattle.

Since 2019 among relievers with at least 100 innings pitched, Castillo has a groundball rate of 53.6 percent, which is the 18th-highest in that span.

Castillo is eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason and he will make roughly $2.6 million in it so Castillo could be another affordable reliever for the Rockies and a formidable one at that.

Our trade target series continues with the Texas Rangers as we wrap up the American League before heading over to the National League.