For the first time in a number of years, the Seattle Mariners may consider being buyers at the July 31 MLB trade deadline.
The Mariners have been both buyers and sellers at the deadline at various points in their history, although they have been hesitant to pull off major blockbusters in the past decade, with some noteworthy exceptions. Just like any team in the league, the Mariners have attempted to shore up the present while mortgaging the future or vice versa through trades, changing the course of the franchise.
This season’s Mariners need only look to franchise history to see the kind of impact that deadline deals can have. Midseason trades helped set up Seattle’s first-ever run of success in the 1990s and early 2000s, but have also contributed to Seattle’s downward spiral ever since.
Everyone remembers the Mariners giving away Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe and David Ortiz for little return at the deadline. But Seattle also acquired Randy Johnson, the best pitcher in team history, through a midseason trade.
Ten such trades have shaped Mariners’ history more than any other, ranked based on impact they had on the team for better or worse and what the club may have looked like if they didn’t occur. This only takes into account in-season trades, so Erik Bedard and Horacio Ramirez don’t appear.