2025 MLB Trade Deadline: Potential American League Targets for Seattle Mariners
There’s less than 10 days left until the MLB Trade Deadline is here, and the Mariners have been rumored to be hot-and-heavy with several players; mostly guys that can help the offense, but the pitching staff also has been mentioned.
Now’s as good of time as any to take a look at players the Seattle Mariners could look to target at the deadline. We’ll start with the American League teams that aren’t in contention, and then move over to the National League on Wednesday.
Here’s a look at one player the Mariners should be looking to acquire from every American League team who isn’t currently in the playoff race.
Baltimore Orioles: Ryan O’Hearn, 1B
O’Hearn is a player that has been linked to Seattle often, and it’s not hard to understand why. He’s a left-handed hitter with an .825 OPS who was selected to his first All-Star game this summer, and he’s been a solid contributor with the bat since joining Baltimore from Kansas City in 2023.
The numbers are good, but the metrics suggest O’Hearn has been even better than those numbers. He ranks in the 94th percentile in expected batting average at .293, his hard-hit rate of 48.3 percent is well above-average (78th percentile) and his 11.9 percent walk rate (84th) shows his quality approach at the plate. On top of that, O’Hearn is an excellent defensive first baseman and would be an upgrade with the glove on what they’ve gotten from Donovan Solano and Luke Raley.
There are two issues here, however. First, O’Hearn is very much a platoon bat; his OPS against southpaws in 2025 is all of .597. Second, since the start of June, he’s been pretty shaky with the bat as he forged an OPS of .609 in June and is slashing just .191/.333/.340. Again, the metrics say there’s bad luck there, but he’s not exactly performing at a level that screams middle-of-the-order hitter.
Still, O’Hearn will have a low prospect cost as a pending free agent, and Seattle would be foolish not to try and acquire his services for the final two months.
Kansas City Royals: Seth Lugo, RHP
Yep. I think the Mariners need to add another starting pitcher. Logan Evans and Emerson Hancock haven’t been consistent enough for me to believe they can be relied on every fifth day, and Bryce Miller is just too much risk for 2025.
Enter Lugo, a pitcher who I believe would thrive in the friendly confines of T-Mobile Park. He’s thrived everywhere over the last two years, and he’s been able to forge a 2.94 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 93/31 K/BB over 107 innings across 18 starts.
Lugo’s metrics aren’t nearly as impressive as O’Hearn’s. He has just one stat that he ranks well above-average in for the 2025 season, and that’s his 7.3 percent walk rate. He doesn’t throw hard, he doesn’t miss bats, he gives up a good deal of hard contact, and he gives up more than his fair share of fly balls.
But there are some guys who just sort of break the machine, and Lugo appears to be one of those. There’s deception in the delivery, and he pitches to where his defense is lined up. This is now two years of getting results at this level, and at some point, you have to just admire the results. You’re not acquiring Lugo to be the ace of your staff, but you wouldn’t have to. He would slide in nicely in the back of the Seattle rotation and give the team a solid floor at a spot where that’s been an issue.
Minnesota Twins: Danny Coulombe, LHP
The bullpen needs to be addressed, too, and in particular, I think Seattle needs a second southpaw, with all due respect to Brandyn Garcia, who could have a bright future in this league. But with Minnesota falling out of this and Garcia likely not ready for a high-leverage role, this one makes a lot of sense on paper.
Coulombe’s stats are ridiculous. He’s appeared in 36 games, and in his 27 1/3 innings, he’s forged a minuscule 0.65 ERA, a .188 batting average against and 29 strikeouts against seven walks. As you might guess, he’s been death to left-handers as seen in a slash against of .204/.235/.224, but he’s actually been even better against righties as seen in a .457 OPS against them compared to the .460 he’s procured versus southpaws. His delivery offers a ton of deception, and he will make hitters look foolish with a borderline unrealistic chase rate of 41.1 percent.
Coulombe makes too much sense for Seattle not to go after, assuming Minnesota is willing to let go of contending in 2025.
If Byron Buxton is available? Do that too.
Chicago White Sox: Luis Robert Jr., OF
If we did this exercise a month ago, I’d say no way to this target. On June 2, this was a player who was hitting .176/.266/.286 and looked as bad as any regular in the American League. But since then, Robert has been pretty dang good. His slash is now up to .206/.292/.344, and in July he’s forged an OPS of 1.023. He’s also stolen 25 bases, and remains one of the best defensive outfielders in the sport.
The main reason for interest here is cost. The White Sox are going nowhere and getting there fast, and quite frankly, he hasn’t been good enough the last two years to justify a high trade demand. He’s also a player who has two club options for $20 million, so he’s no longer a player with the “team-friendly” deal he had after signing his extension back in 2020. Long story short, the White Sox don’t have a ton of leverage here, and it may not make sense to Chicago’s ownership group to retain Robert at his proposed salary knowing that they are still light years from contention. Seattle wouldn’t get him for free, but there’s no way they’d have to give up a high prospect cost while procuring the services of a player they won’t have to keep in 2026 if it falters, and would at the very least improve their defense in right field.
It’s a little riskier than the names above, but Robert comes with substantially more reward than those players, too.
Athletics: Sean Newcomb, LHP
If the Mariners don’t get someone like Coulombe, a left-hander like Newcomb wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize. A former first-round pick, Newcomb did a decent job in the Boston rotation earlier in the year before a (somewhat) surprising DFA, and he has handled pitching in the A’s bullpen well with a 2.52 ERA and 25/8 K/BB over his 25 innings. He’s struck out 21 of the 74 left-handed hitters he’s faced this year, and his deception and slurve/cutter are difficult pitches for hitters from that side to pick up. The bonus with Newcomb is that he has the arm strength to work multiple innings, too. Not the sexiest target, but one who would make the Mariners better.
If we’re being honest, the targets for the National League are much more exciting, but several players from these clubs could make Seattle a more complete ballclub in 2025. That’s the goal, right?
