Crafting two trades the Seattle Mariners could make in June
Trades rarely happen in May or June, but how could Seattle entice a non-contender to help them out before July?
Your Seattle Mariners defeated the San Diego Padres 4-1 on Saturday night to improve to 25-19 through the first 44 contests of the season. Positioning themselves to start looking around the league at what could become available early in the 2025 trade transaction cycle.
There are a couple of advantages that could come with getting a deal done before July. One, the player(s) acquired start helping the ballclub a month or more earlier. Two, when the last two weeks of July come around, Seattle could already have part of their shopping list done, allowing the front office to focus on a smaller set of holes needs.
Here’s two trades to ponder as we approach the final two weeks of May.
Seattle Mariners receive: LHP Jared Koenig
Milwaukee Brewers receive: 1B Tyler Locklear
Milwaukee, why? They’re currently six games back in the NL Central and sit with a 21-25 record. The bullpen is sitting right about average in every category, but it really doesn’t matter because they hold a team wRC+ of 85. Rhys Hoskins has been a bright spot to start 2025 with his 136 wRC+ through the first portion of the season, he is a free agent after this season and Milwaukee really has no up and coming options at first base.
If they feel this season is slipping away from them come mid-to-early June, they could opt to sell a reliever off in favor of getting a near-MLB ready position player. Hell, Seattle hasn’t been shy of doing this in the past… but usually not in June.
Seattle, why? Seattle isn’t set at first base for the long term either, but there will be bountiful options at the deadline and this coming winter to fill that hole need. If Seattle doesn’t see Locklear as a fit to lock down the position soon — they could opt to sell him in favor for a lefty reliever that is controllable through 2029 and is finding success again in 2025 after having a breakout 2024. Sure, he’s 31-years-old, but the bullpen needs late-inning help and Koenig could help provide relief to Gabe Speier — the only lefty currently in the Mariners ‘pen.
Jerry Dipoto is usually the guy dealing turned-over gems out of the bullpen for positional help, however, Seattle has gone from being a consistently top ranked bullpen to being No. 20 in FIP (4.16), No. 23 in K/9 (8.08) and No. 19 in WHIP (1.35).
Trade number two:
Seattle Mariners receive: 3B Ramon Urias
Baltimore Orioles receibe: RHP Logan Evans, LHP Brandyn Garcia
Baltimore, why? Everybody knows the story currently happening with the O’s. Manager fired. Underperforming. Bad offseason. Completely ignored the needs they have in the rotation. Kyle Gibson has been atrocious. How can they better set themselves up for 2026 and beyond? This feels like a deal that is so obvious it reached out and smacked me in the face.
Should Evans prove himself to be capable of filling a back-end rotation role with decent success, this should be the kind of value that Baltimore should figure to be able to get out of journeyman Ramon Urias. Coby Mayo, Jordan Westburg and their plethora of infielders should be more than able to cover the at-bats needed to cover third base. This team needs rotation impact, and depth. Evans could be theirs for 6 years for a utility guy. In addition? Pick up a guy that is probably close to making an impact in the bullpen — where they also need help.
Seattle, why? Lets come full circle on the Urias brothers. While Seattle doesn’t have a ton of rotation depth, if Logan Gilbert and George Kirby are both back and pitching come June, and the rest of the rotation stays healthy… they could spare Evans to get a help-me-now bat. Ramon Urias isn’t heavy impact in the hot corner, and his splits against right-handed pitching aren’t spectacular to start off 2025, history tells us he can hold his own versus righties, with a 106 wRC+ in 218 PA vs RHP in 2024.
Seattle could do much worse, and they are. Ben Williamson has significantly regressed at the plate, sporting a 53 wRC+ with a 28% k-rate and a miserable 2.7% walk rate in his last 75 PA after the hot start.
Ramon Urias isn’t a free agent until 2027, so he could theoretically fill the third-base hole need for 2026, given that Seattle doesn’t have much coming up from the farm to take over that role this season, or next.
The price here is relatively cheap to bridge the third base gap until Colt Emerson is ready.