Five Mariners Trade Candidates Before the 2026 Season

While Raley has the longer track record, Canzone’s 2025 breakout comes at a more advantageous point on the aging and control curve, making him the more attractive trade asset for teams seeking immediate offensive upside with room for growth. While perhaps the Mariners front office would prefer to offload Raley of the two candidates, Canzone probably offers more value in a trade in 2026.

Emerson Hancock & Logan Evans

During periods when Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Bryce Miller were unavailable, the Mariners relied on Emerson Hancock and Logan Evans to absorb innings. Unfortunately, neither was consistent enough to put real pressure on the rotation once it returned to full health. Hancock, a former first-round pick, showed enough stuff to earn a bullpen role late in the season, while Evans spent most of the year bouncing between Seattle and Triple-A Tacoma.

Both pitchers ran into the same underlying issue. Neither missed enough bats, and the amount of hard contact they allowed led to uneven outings. Over 162 career innings, Hancock has posted a 4.81 ERA with a 15.6 percent strikeout rate. Evans has not fared much better, recording a 4.31 ERA and a 16.9 percent strikeout rate across 81 innings.

The key here is market context. Starting pitching is now at a premium, particularly for teams like the St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks, two clubs linked to players the Mariners are reportedly targeting. Both Hancock and Evans have shown enough in short stretches to project as fourth or fifth starters elsewhere, even though Seattle offers limited opportunity for a long-term role. With the rotation essentially set for 2026 and Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan nearing the picture, the Mariners could move one of the two to turn pitching depth into immediate upgrades.

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Jurrangelo Cijntje has been described as a unicorn pitcher, one of the Mariners’ top prospects, and a Top 100 name on MLB Pipeline. In a report for The Seattle Times, beat writer Ryan Divish alluded to the front office’s reluctance to give up major-league pieces in trade talks and named Cijntje specifically. As a result, he has increasingly been viewed by many in Mariners circles as a potential fall guy. With so much prospect talent in the system, the Mariners will eventually have to identify which high-upside piece they are willing to sacrifice.

Although the Mariners allowed him to develop pitching from both sides of the plate, they expect Cijntje to commit exclusively as a right-handed pitcher. His fastball has touched the upper-90s, and his secondary mix, particularly the slider and changeup, gives him a realistic path toward a starting role if his command continues to develop. That combination of upside and distance from the majors places him in a category of prospects that holds appeal on the trade market, particularly for rebuilding teams willing to wait on development.

That intent to keep him long term becomes harder to maintain when an organization produces more high-end arms than roster spots or payroll flexibility allows. With Seattle’s rotation largely set and additional pitching depth continuing to arrive, Cijntje may represent the type of future value the Mariners ultimately have to part with, making him a logical trade candidate if they want to truly move the needle in the market.