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Mariners Trade For Austin Shenton, DFA JT Chargois

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As announced by both teams, the Mariners have acquired infielder Austin Shenton in a trade with the Rays. Seattle will send cash considerations to Tampa Bay in return. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Mariners designated right-handed pitcher JT Chargois for assignment.

Shenton began his professional career with the Mariners, who selected him in the 2019 draft. Though he was never a highly-ranked prospect, the flexible defender quickly worked his way up the minor league ladder, hitting well at every step along the way. In 120 games across four levels in Seattle’s system, he hit .299 with 46 doubles and 19 home runs, good for a .940 OPS. While he spent most of his time at third base, he also took reps at first base, second base, and both outfield corners.

Ahead of the 2021 trade deadline, the M’s dealt Shenton to the Rays in exchange for right-handed reliever Diego Castillo. Funnily enough, the other player Seattle sent to Tampa Bay in that trade was none other than Chargois. (After brief stints with the Rays and Marlins, Chargois made his way back to the Mariners at the trade deadline this past summer. But more on him in a moment.) Injuries cut into Shenton’s playing time in the Rays system in 2021 and ’22, but after his strong 2023 season (1.006 OPS in 134 games between Double and Triple-A) the team added him to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

Shenton wasn’t as dominant with the stick in 2024, but he provided above-average offense for both Triple-A Durham and the Rays over a handful of games with the big league club. In his first MLB season, he slashed .214/.340/.405 across 50 plate appearances, good for a 120 wRC+. Those are decent numbers for a lefty bench bat, but nonetheless, Shenton was the casualty when the Rays needed to free up an extra roster spot to protect a pair of promising pitchers from this year’s Rule 5 reaping. He was DFA’d yesterday evening.

Despite his solid offensive production, it’s not hard to guess what the Rays might have been thinking. While his bat has real promise, Shenton will be 27 years old next season, and he comes with his fair share of flaws. Although he has played several positions, he might not be capable of regular MLB playing time anywhere other than first base. As for his offense, he has enticing power and a good eye, but strikeouts could be his downfall against the highest level of competition. He has also had dreadful splits against same-handed pitching in two of the last three seasons. On top of all that, he has often had trouble staying on the field; he spent time on the IL in each of his first four professional campaigns.

Regardless, the Mariners must have liked what they saw (and what they remembered) of Shenton, and there’s little risk for Seattle in taking him on. He still has two minor league option years remaining, so he won’t get any playing with the big league club unless he earns it. Moreover, it’s not as if Chargois was going to be a key player in the M’s bullpen next season. Rather, he seemed to be a likely non-tender candidate ahead of this week’s deadline.

Chargois, 34 in December, is a journeyman low-leverage reliever who has bounced between the Twins, Dodgers, Mariners, Rays, and Marlins throughout his big league tenure. He also spent a season with the Rakuten Eagles in Japan. The veteran righty has never been a flashy name, but his career 3.35 ERA and 3.84 SIERA over 231 1/3 innings are impressive numbers. Durability and injury concerns (he has never pitched more than 53 2/3 innings in a season) could prevent him from signing anything more than a minor league contract this winter, but his sparkling 2.23 ERA and solid 4.18 SIERA from this past season should help him find a new place to pitch in 2025.

Mariners Re-Sign Casey Lawrence To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners and right-hander Casey Lawrence have reunited on a minor league deal, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The Big League Management Company client will presumably receive an invite to major league spring training in a few months.

Lawrence, 37, signed a minor league deal with the M’s going into last year as well. He provided the club with some non-roster depth, making 29 starts and logging 165 Triple-A innings with a 5.95 earned run average in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His 14.9% strikeout rate was subpar but his 6.6% walk rate was strong and he got grounders at a solid 44.1% clip.

That’s wasn’t enough to get Lawrence called to the major leagues, so he reached minor league free agency recently, but he’ll now return to the M’s and give them an experienced depth arm. Lawrence has pitched in parts of four different major league seasons, suiting up for the Blue Jays, Mariners and Cardinals. In that time, he has a 6.75 ERA in 124 innings.

The Mariners have a strong rotation if everyone is healthy, though that’s not something a club can count on. Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller each made at least 30 starts in 2024 with no one in that group having an ERA higher than 3.64. Bryan Woo had some injuries but still managed to give the club 22 starts with a 2.89 ERA.

The M’s also have Emerson Hancock on hand, though his upper-level results haven’t inspired much confidence. He has just a 16.7% strikeout rate at the Triple-A level and just a 14.3% clip against major league hitters. Jhonathan Díaz and Blas Castano are also on the 40-man roster but Díaz has just 45 major league innings under his belt while Castano has none.

In short, while the M’s do have a strong rotation, the options beyond the top five aren’t as impressive. While many fans of rival clubs have speculated about plucking a starter from Seattle, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto recently referred to that as the club’s “Plan Z“, perhaps a reflection of the thin depth. Less injury luck in 2025 could make that an issue as the season goes along, but Lawrence will give them another arm to potentially call upon.

Mariners, Justin Turner Have Discussed Reunion

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The Mariners’ deadline acquisition of Justin Turner yielded positive results, and the two parties have already had discussions about a reunion for the 2025 season, general manager Justin Hollander tells Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. “We’ve already had discussions with JT and reiterated our interest that we expressed at the end of the season,” Seattle’s GM said.

Turner, who’ll turn 40 later this month, signed a one-year, $13MM deal with the Blue Jays last winter and was flipped to the M’s in a July trade sending minor league outfielder RJ Schreck back to Toronto. He’d shaken off a dismal May slump to post strong numbers in the summer and continued to swing a good bat in the Emerald City down the stretch. Turner finished out the season with a .259/.354/.383 batting line, including a .263/.364/.403 slash (126 wRC+) in 48 games and 190 plate appearances with the Mariners.

That marked the 11th consecutive season in which Turner has provided offense at least 15% better than league average, by measure of wRC+. His power numbers and once strong defensive ratings at the hot corner have both deteriorated, but Turner maintains quality bat-to-ball skills and keen plate discipline. He fanned in only 17.6% of his plate appearances — his second straight season with that exact rate — and walked at a 10.9% clip that represented his highest mark since the 2018 campaign (when he walked in a career-high 11% of his plate appearances).

Turner’s recent teams seem to think he can no longer handle third base on even a part-time basis. The Jays gave him just 32 innings there in 2024, while the Mariners played him for one lone frame. He spent only 57 innings at third with the Red Sox in 2023. At this point, he’s a pure first baseman or designated hitter, but he handled himself well in 326 frames at first base last year, drawing slightly positive marks from both Defensive Runs Saved (2) and Outs Above Average (1). He logged similar marks at first with Boston in ’23.

There’s no telling how Turner would hold up for a full-time slate of innings at first base, but it’s unlikely he’d be asked to do so. In all likelihood, he’d split his time between DH and first base wherever he signs, with far more time at the former than the latter (and perhaps an occasional emergency appearance at third base or second base).

The Mariners don’t have a set option at first base at the moment. They’re reportedly looking to add either a second baseman or third baseman — Josh Rojas and Dylan Moore can platoon at the other spot — as well as a solid bat that can handle some first base. Seattle does have lefty-swinging Luke Raley as an option at first, though he can also mix into the outfield corners on days when any of Randy Arozarena, Julio Rodriguez or Victor Robles need a break. Raley will likely see some time at designated hitter, too. Turner would make a natural platoon partner for Raley at first base, but he still hits righties well enough (.261/.354/.375) to slot in as a DH even when Raley starts in the infield.

Turner would also fit the Mariners’ ongoing desire to reduce their perennially poor team strikeout rate. Seattle’s 26.8% punchout rate was the highest in the majors this past season, as their efforts to curb their contact woes last winter clearly didn’t have the intended effect. He’d also likely fit into what figures to be a relatively tight budget. The Mariners’ payroll is expected to rise next season but not by leaps and bounds.

As it stands, RosterResource projects the Mariners for a $152MM payroll — a number that could drop depending on trades and the fate of some potential non-tender candidates in their arb class. That’s already a slight uptick from last year’s $144MM payroll. Turner should still command a solid deal but could be in line for a pay cut as he approaches his 40th birthday on the heels of his lowest home run total since becoming a full-time player (the shortened 2020 season excluded).

Mariners Prioritizing Infield Bats

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The Mariners are once again looking to upgrade their offense this winter after 2024’s underwhelming results at the plate squandered a terrific season from their pitching staff. Unsurprisingly, general manager Justin Hollander tells Jon Morosi of MLB.com that the M’s view second base as a priority this offseason. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic adds that the M’s would also like to add at first base. Ideally, Seattle would add one bat to help out at second or third base — with Josh Rojas and Dylan Moore a potential platoon at the other spot — and another at first base. Hollander downplayed the idea of adding to the outfield, telling FanSided’s Robert Murray that between Randy Arozarena in left, Julio Rodriguez in center, Victor Robles in right and Luke Raley as a corner outfield/first base/DH option, the Mariners feel they have potential for a “pretty high-end outfield.”

With the offseason just days old, there are of course virtually limitless options to explore via free agency and trade. Morosi reports that Seattle is among the teams to have evaluated Hyeseong Kim, the star second baseman of the Korea Baseball Organization’s Kiwoom Heroes. Kim, 25, is scheduled to be posted for MLB clubs to bid on this winter. Rosenthal lists a reunion with Justin Turner as something Seattle could pursue. He cautions against the likelihood of the Mariners spending to the levels necessary to add longtime division rival Alex Bregman or (to a lesser extent) first baseman Christian Walker.

Kim, 26 in January, hit .326/.383/.458 with 11 home runs, 30 steals, an 8.3% walk rate and just a 10.9% strikeout rate for the Heroes this past season. He’s been a plus hitter three straight seasons in the KBO but is more of a contact-, speed- and defense-oriented player, as he’s not considered to have much home run pop. This past season’s 11 round-trippers were a career-high. Turner, of course, finished out the 2024 season in Seattle after coming over from the Blue Jays in a trade. He batted .264/.363/.403 in 190 plate appearances as a Mariner. His overall .259/.354/.383 slash is a ways from peak levels, and Turner will turn 40 later this month. That said, he was still a productive big league hitter this past season.

The Mariners’ expected focus on infield bats — and their flexibility to look at multiple positions — was laid out in our Mariners Offseason Outlook. As noted in that piece a few weeks back, Kim and Gleyber Torres are two particularly interesting options at second base, and both are likely to be relatively affordable. Former Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim could technically be a fit at second or third base, but he’s likely to miss the beginning of the season following his recent shoulder surgery and derives a good bit of his value from his plus glovework. He’d be a less-than-ideal fit if the goal is to bolster the offense from day one.

Meanwhile, signing Bregman or Willy Adames (perhaps with eye toward moving him to third base) would represent a major philosophical departure from the Mariners’ past mode of operation. The M’s have only given out one multi-year deal to a free agent position player under president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto — that being last winter’s two-year, $24MM pact to Mitch Garver. Rosenthal suggests that signing a $100MM+ deal could be outside the team’s budget, but even beyond that, it’s simply not how Dipoto has historically operated.

The trade market could present various alternatives. The Rays will likely listen to offers on Yandy Diaz, making him one speculative fit at first base. He’d align well with Seattle’s desire to reduce their MLB-worst strikeout rate and is slated to earn $10MM next year with a $12MM club option for 2026. Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe, owed $10.5MM with an $11.5MM club option for 2026, is another on-paper fit. He wouldn’t reduce the team’s strikeout rate, but he’s a potential impact bat with multiple years of club control. Cleveland could listen to offers on slugging first baseman Josh Naylor.

However things play out, the M’s will be looking to once again redraw an offense that has struggled to make contact at one of the most glaring rates in the league. In addition to tying the Rockies with an MLB-high 26.8% strikeout rate, Mariners hitters had the league’s third-lowest overall contact rate (74%) and were tied for MLB’s second-worst contact rate on swings at pitches within the strike zone (82.9%). The Seattle lineup actually chased pitches off the plate at the fourth-lowest rate in MLB … but their contact rate on those swings was still the third-worst.

Orioles To Name Cody Asche Hitting Coach

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The Orioles plan to name Cody Asche hitting coach, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (X links). Kubatko also reported earlier today that Baltimore was hiring Tommy Joseph away from the Mariners as an assistant hitting coach.

Baltimore parted ways with former hitting coaches Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte at the end of the season. Borgschulte landed with the Twins as their top hitting instructor last month. Kubatko reports (on X) today that Fuller is headed to the White Sox as director of hitting.

Asche will take a larger role in their stead. The O’s hired the former big league third baseman/outfielder as offensive strategy coach during the 2022-23 offseason. Asche had something of a de facto third hitting coach job in that capacity for two years. The O’s now seem content to turn the lead job over to the 34-year-old.

Most of Asche’s five-year playing career came as a member of the Phillies. The left-handed hitter played in Philadelphia between 2013-16. The final of those seasons overlapped with Joseph, a former first baseman who played 249 games for the Phils between 2016-17. Joseph made the transition to coaching in 2021. He spent a trio of seasons working with minor league hitters before joining Seattle’s staff as an assistant hitting coach. The Mariners shook up their hitting staff a couple times last season but kept Joseph in the fold all year. He’ll move on after one season to work with his former teammate in Baltimore.

Baltimore also has a bench coach vacancy after parting with Fredi González at the end of the year. The O’s haven’t settled on a replacement, but one notable name is connected to the job. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports that the Orioles have interest in David Ross for the position, though he cautions that it’s unclear if that interest is mutual.

Last winter, Ross rebuffed interest from the Yankees regarding their bench coach job. That came within a week of his surprise firing as Cubs manager when Chicago jumped on the chance to hire Craig Counsell. Ross seemingly didn’t have any desire to take a non-managerial coaching job at the time. It isn’t known if that has changed, though he has close ties to Baltimore skipper Brandon Hyde. The O’s manager was on the Cubs’ coaching staff while Ross played for Chicago in 2015-16.

Jorge Polanco On Track For January Return To Baseball Activity

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Free agent second baseman Jorge Polanco underwent surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee after the season, clouding his market on the heels of a down year with the Mariners. Agent Ulises Cabrera of Octagon tells MLB.com’s Jon Morosi that his client is currently expected to be cleared for full baseball activity in January. Seattle declined a $12MM club option on Polanco in favor of a $750K buyout last week.

Polanco, 31, stumbled through the worst season of his career in 2024, hitting just .213/.298/.355 as the primary second baseman for the Mariners. It was Polanco’s first season with an organization other than the Twins. Minnesota, deep in infield talent and facing payroll uncertainty amid the Diamond Sports Group/Bally Sports bankruptcy proceedings, traded Polanco to Seattle last offseason in exchange for reliever Justin Topa, rotation reclamation bid Anthony DeSclafani, and prospects Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen. Neither club benefited from the deal in 2024. Polanco had a career-worst showing. Topa missed nearly the entire season after sustaining a knee injury in spring training. DeSclafani didn’t pitch at all after undergoing flexor surgery in spring training.

At the time he was acquired, Polanco looked like the steadying presence the Mariners had coveted at second base after several years of a revolving door at the position. The switch-hitter was a fixture in Minnesota’s infield from 2018-23, hitting a combined .270/.338/.455 along the way. Polanco had dealt with some knee troubles in recent seasons but finished the ’23 season both healthy and productive. In 216 plate appearances after being reinstated from the injured list in July 2023, he slashed .258/.361/.456.

The knee injury likely explains some of Polanco’s struggles in 2024, but that won’t do his free agent market any big favors. Major League Baseball’s free agent market generally doesn’t treat second basemen well in the first place, and Polanco will be entering the 2025 campaign as a notable health risk and rebound candidate. He’s likely to be capped at a one-year deal with some incentives based on plate appearances and/or games played. Clubs looking for some affordable help at second base could look to Polanco, a 2019 All-Star who belted 33 home runs as recently as 2021, as a reasonably priced option. However, it’s possible they’ll want to wait until he resumes baseball activity before determining the size of the commitment they’re comfortable making.

Mitch Haniger Exercises Player Option

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Mitch Haniger bypassed the opportunity to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Mariners, MLBTR has confirmed. The outfielder returns to Seattle on a $15.5MM salary.

There wasn’t much doubt about this decision. Haniger is coming off a second straight down year. He hit .208/.286/.334 across 423 plate appearances. That’s similar production to the middling .209/.266/.365 slash he posted during his first season with the Giants. Haniger had been an above-average hitter over the five years preceding his $43.5MM free agent deal with San Francisco.

Seattle reacquired Haniger last winter alongside Anthony DeSclafani in a deal that sent Robbie Ray to the Giants. Neither side got much out of that trade in the first season. Ray was inconsistent over seven starts and bypassed the chance to opt out of the $50MM remaining on his deal. The M’s did manage to flip DeSclafani as part of the Jorge Polanco trade with Minnesota, but Polanco underperformed while DeSclafani blew out and never pitched for the Twins.

Assuming the Mariners keep Haniger on the roster through the offseason, he’ll compete for a spot in Dan Wilson’s corner outfield/DH rotation. Seattle has Randy Arozarena locked into left field. Victor Robles is the favorite for playing time in right, but he can move into a fourth outfield capacity if the M’s add a bigger bat. Luke Raley should get a decent chunk of playing time at DH, especially if the Mariners acquire a first baseman via free agency or trade.

Mariners Select Blas Castano

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The Mariners announced they’ve added righty Blas Castano to their 40-man roster. As a player with parts of seven seasons in the minors, he would’ve otherwise qualified for minor league free agency.

Castano gets a 40-man spot for the first time in his career at age 26. The Dominican Republic native spent six seasons in the Yankee system before joining the Mariners on a minor league deal in August ’23. Seattle can keep him in the minors for the foreseeable future, as Castano has a full slate of option years. They’d need to run him through waivers to take him back off the 40-man roster.

Seattle was impressed enough with Castano’s 2024 season to not allow him to get away. The 5’10” righty split the year between the top two minor league levels. He threw 125 1/3 innings of 4.38 ERA ball, striking out 20% of opponents against an 8% walk rate. They’re not dominant numbers, though he fared better in Double-A before moving up to the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Mariners Decline Option On Jorge Polanco; Luis Urias Elects Free Agency

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The Mariners on Friday declined their $12MM club option on second baseman Jorge Polanco, per a team announcement. He’ll be paid a $750K buyout and become a free agent. The M’s also announced that infielder Luis Urias went unclaimed on outright waivers and elected free agency. Their 40-man roster is currently at 36 players.

Seattle acquired the switch-hitting Polanco from the Twins last offseason in a trade sending reliever Justin Topa, veteran righty Anthony DeSclafani, prospects Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen, and cash back to Minnesota. The hope at the time was that the steady Polanco  would solidify what had been a revolving door at second base for two seasons in Seattle. Instead, Polanco became the latest notable veteran to arrive in Seattle and see his offensive production unexpectedly decline in swift fashion.

Polanco hit .270/.338/.455 in nearly 2700 plate appearances with the Twins from 2018-23, only once posting below-average offense in a season (2020). He’d incurred some injury troubles in the two years immediately preceding the swap but was entering his age-30 season. There was little reason to expect a steep decline at the plate, but that’s exactly what played out. Polanco, a 2019 All-Star, got out to an awful .197/.285/.298 slash through the first three months of the season. He picked up the pace considerably in July, but by that point there was little salvaging his season. He wound up with career-lows in batting average (.213) and on-base percentage (.298). His .355 slugging percentage was exactly one point higher than his career-worst .354 from that shortened 2020 season.

The career-worst showing at the plate for Polanco was at least in part due to knee troubles. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported a couple weeks back that Polanco was slated to undergo surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee. That’s the same knee that landed Polanco on the injured list for the final month of the 2022 season and for the first three weeks of the 2023 campaign. Depending on the extent to which the injury has been nagging him, it’s certainly possible that a healthier Polanco could return to form in short order next season. It’s not yet clear exactly how long he’ll need to recover, but if Polanco is expected back on time for Opening Day 2025, he ought to command a one-year deal with incentives this offseason.

As for Urias, this is the second time the Mariners passed him through waivers. He accepted an outright assignment last time around, as electing free agency following his midseason outright would’ve required forfeiting the remainder of his salary. He’s no longer on a guaranteed deal, however, and was arbitration-eligible — with a projected $5MM salary (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz). The M’s were never likely to pay that price a second time, leaving Urias as one of the more clear-cut non-tender candidates in the league. Today’s outright is tantamount to non-tendering him a couple weeks ahead of the deadline to do so.

Urias, 27, was one of the top prospects in baseball during his minor league days with the Padres. He had a pair of solid seasons following a trade to the Brewers, hitting a combined .244/.340/.426 in 2021-22. However, Urias’ production tanked with a .194/.337/.299 slash in 2023, and he wasn’t able to get back on track in 2024, hitting only .191/.303/.394. He’s capable of playing multiple infield spots but is better suited at second and third base than at shortstop. A team seeking a right-handed utility infielder could look to Urias on a minor league deal or perhaps a low-cost one-year pact with some incentives baked in.

Mariners, Logan Gilbert Yet To Have Serious Extension Talks

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Logan Gilbert is coming off his best season yet, posting a 3.23 ERA and outstanding strikeout and walk rates over a Major League-leading 208 2/3 innings.  The former 14th overall pick has lived up to the hype since making his MLB debut in 2021, and while he has cemented his place in the Mariners’ rotation, he isn’t yet a lock for the team’s future plans.  Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reports that “there has been little discussion about a long-term deal” between the two sides, and “nothing is imminent in that regard.”

There are several reasons why the lack of talks shouldn’t raise an alarm for M’s fans.  Gilbert is only entering his second year of arbitration eligibility, and he is under team control through 2027 as a Super Two player.  Gilbert and the Mariners avoided a hearing last winter by agreeing to a $4.05MM salary for 2024, and the right-hander’s big performance this year has put him in line for a projected $8.1MM salary in 2025.

Those numbers will keep rising if the 27-year-old Gilbert keeps pitching well in his remaining arb years, but that would still represent a relative bargain for the Mariners to have ace-level production in their rotation.  Signing Gilbert to an extension prior to Opening Day would give the M’s some cost-certainty through the rest of his arbitration years and beyond, and such a deal might still end up being a bargain since Gilbert might just be getting better.

The 2024 season saw Gilbert post a career-best 27.4% strikeout rate and 31.7% whiff rate, in addition to his usual excellent control.  His 39.3% hard-hit ball rate was also the best of his four Major League seasons, and while this only ranked in the 44th percentile of all pitchers, Gilbert had never topped the 11th percentile in any of his prior three years.

As a whole, Seattle’s rotation is not only perhaps the best in baseball but also the most cost-effective.  Luis Castillo has the big contract of the bunch in the form of the five-year, $108MM extension he signed in September 2022, but Gilbert is entering his second arb year, George Kirby is projected for $5.5MM in his first arb year, and Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller are still in their pre-arbitration years.  Former sixth overall pick Emerson Hancock hasn’t shown much over his 72 2/3 career MLB innings, but he is another promising young arm that would’ve gotten a longer look in pretty much any rotation that didn’t have such quality and durability.

This abundance of pitching talent is great for the Mariners in many ways, including the level of flexibility it gives the team in approaching extension talks.  With a nod to the “you can never have enough pitching” credo, the M’s don’t necessarily need to lock up Gilbert as soon as possible since so many other talented hurlers are on hand.  All of the remaining team control for the non-Castillo pitchers gives the Mariners extra time to weigh their options about which of the younger arms (if any) can be long-term cornerstones.  For instance, if the M’s have already seen enough from Miller or Woo, signing either to an extension earlier in their careers would come at a lower cost than an extension for Gilbert.

If any of these starters aren’t really in Seattle’s big-picture plans, a trade is always possible, which is the broader theme of Jude’s piece.  President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has strongly downplayed the idea that the Mariners will deal from their rotation this offseason, though Dipoto’s stance could soften if another team makes a strong enough offer.  Specifically, if that offer contains a comparatively talented young hitter with extra years of team control, moving a starter for this hitter would help a Seattle club in sore need of offensive help.

This isn’t to say that Gilbert would necessarily be the pitcher traded, escalating salary notwithstanding.  One NL scout told Jude that “if they have to trade someone, Miller would make the most sense,” though the scout also felt “it would be ridiculous for them to trade any of their starters.”  As Jude notes, Miller has such drastic home/away splits (2.69 ERA in 170 1/3 innings in Seattle, 4.52 ERA in 141 1/3 innings elsewhere) that other teams may be wary that Miller’s success has been a product of his pitcher-friendly ballpark.  Castillo is the least-likely trade candidate, according to one source, due to his larger contract and the fact that he’s entering his age-32 season.

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