Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Josh Naylor (22) gestures after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on July 7. Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

ESPN MLB Insider Gives Bold Take on Seattle Mariners as Trade Deadline Nears

Originally posted on Seattle Mariners on SI
By Brady Farkas | Last updated Jul 23, 2025 3:45 PM ET

With the MLB Trade Deadline coming up on July 31, ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passan described the Seattle Mariners as "all-in."

Seattle enters play on Wednesday at 54-47 through 101 games. They are five games back in the American League West, but they currently hold the No. 2 wild card spot. Seattle hasn't made the playoffs since the 2022 season.

If the Mariners' starters are healthy and they can focus on adding a reliever to the trio of nasty that is Andrés Muñoz, Matt Brash and Gabe Speier. Seattle's pitching alone will make the team good. Another bat or two on top of that can help them evolve from Bulbasaur to Venusaur. Naylor makes sense at first. Eugenio Suárez makes sense at third. Both together would be a home run. Willi Castro and Ryan O'Hearn are solid backup plans.

Eight days out from the trade deadline, a detailed look at where all 30 teams stand. Who’s all-in and all-out, who still hasn’t figured out their tack and what are the prices on the biggest names available. All that and more, free and unlocked at ESPN: https://t.co/PPIJpz57DV
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 23, 2025

Connecting the M's to a reliever is a welcome development, as we wrote that the team needs bullpen help on Tuesday. The Mariners have reportedly been most interested in re-acquiring Suarez, but Naylor certainly makes sense. However, if the team brought him in, it would create problems for Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone and could even lead to one of them getting moved as well.

The Mariners will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon when they take on the Milwaukee Brewers at 12:40 p.m. PT. The two teams have split the first two games of the series and the M's will look to win the rubber match and solidify a winning homestand.

Quinn Priester (MIL) pitches against Luis Castillo (SEA).

This article first appeared on Seattle Mariners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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