For someone with the moniker “Trader Jerry,” Jerry Dipoto is sure sitting idly by as seemingly every potential fit entering this offseason is now with another team. How many more times are Seattle Mariners fans going to have to deal with this?
The Cubs made a big move that ended any hopes of Nico Hoerner being a Mariner in 2025; Christian Walker signed a modest, three-year deal with division rival, Houston Astros; Josh Naylor was moved to the Diamondbacks in a confusing move for Cleveland; Gleyber Torres signed a one-year deal with the Tigers; and finally, the Dodgers signed Hyeseong Kim to a reasonable three-year deal.
We’re not sure if Dipoto knows this, but this team still has a few spots that need to be addressed, and the offseason is actually underway. He can start filling voids now.
After Kim signed with the Dodgers, it seemed like things might actually be lining up for Dipoto to make a move, and a pretty good one at that. As the New York Yankees reportedly pursued Gavin Lux, reports surfaced that the Mariners were actually the most aggressive team after the former top prospect (a good sign for Mariners fans). Now, it is neither the Yankees or the Mariners that will end up with Lux’s services.
Instead, a confusing team in the Cincinnati Reds decided to pull the trigger on the former Dodgers second baseman.
Mariners may only have one more option after Lux is sent to Cincinnati in Reds-Dodgers swap
This is frustrating from the Mariners perspective as there are only so many options to fill their current needs at second or third base, let alone both of them. It might look as though the Mariners only have one option (and pretty scary one at that) to fill their second base issue now, but a report that immediately followed the trade provided some hope for Seattle fans.
Jim Bowden said Lux could be on the move before he ever sets foot in Cincinnati, mentioning the Yankees as the possible destination after they lost Gleyber Torres in free agency. This could be true, but doesn’t prevent the Mariners from wedging their way into the mix and finally making a bold move and beating someone out of a trade. If Lux is being flipped, Dipoto needs to find a way to force himself into that trade.
Well, it no longer seems as if that’s possible, either, as Bowden walked back on those comments, stating that the Reds could opt to keep Lux and move him around the infield with Matt McLain. Then again, this could very well be a leverage play (hopefully for Mariners fans).
Otherwise, if the Reds opt to keep Lux as part of a super utility role, the Mariners may be forced to turn to San Diego and look at Luis Arráez as a potential solution, which isn’t exactly a sound solution. He’s a terrible defender — even if he hits .315 — at second base with virtually no other skill set. Arraez is due roughly $13.7 million in 2025 before entering free agency and would eat up all of the Mariners expected remaining money to spend this offseason.
The options were already thin coming into this offseason, but as more moves happen, the options are looking scarier and scarier. The time for Dipoto to make a move was a month ago, but he needs to do something before it’s too late.
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