Seattle Mariners fully chasing World Series after Eugenio Suárez trade

SEATTLE - The Seattle Mariners are fully chasing a World Series this season with three significant additions to the roster ahead of the trade deadline made to bolster their hopes in a wide-open AL race.

"We felt like this team deserved the opportunity to just go out and see if we can win the World Series," president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said.

Seattle added two of the most potent bats available at the deadline in third baseman Eugenio Suárez and first baseman Josh Naylor, both acquired through separate trades with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Additionally, the Mariners added left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson from the Pittsburgh Pirates to give manager Dan Wilson a second lefty option in the bullpen alongside Gabe Speier.

While one more piece for the bullpen might have served as a 'perfect' deadline for Seattle, the Mariners are unquestionably better following the trio of moves by Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander.

"We were not shy about expressing that we wanted to see if we could upgrade at the corner end field for the stretch run. We wanted to add to our bullpen. We were able to do those things. And I obviously feel like we acquired the two best bats available," Dipoto said.

With Suárez and Naylor added to the lineup, the Mariners have their most potent lineup in at least eight years, if not longer.

"I mean, is this the best lineup we've had since I've been here? Without question," Dipoto said bluntly. 

"When you look up on a given night, you've got Polo hitting seventh, who's rocking something near an .800 OPS for the most part, you know, and on a 25-homer pace, or thereabouts. Dom Canzone, who I think has been legitimately good since the day we brought him back from Tacoma, hitting down at the bottom of your order. Cole Young, who I think, is among the top 10 hitters at his position since the end of his first week in the big leagues. That's a good bottom of your lineup. 

"We can left-right in the middle. You've got switch hitters. There's balance. We have speed. And I think right now, we're the only team -- this is without adding Geno to the mix until today -- I think we're the only team in the American League to be in the top three in the league in WRC+, home runs and stolen bases, because we have a lot of offensive talent."

It's been since at least the 2016 and 2017 campaigns where Seattle's lineup has looked even remotely as potent as its new iteration. Nelson Cruz, Robinson Canó and Kyle Seager headlined those offensive units.

Dipoto said Arizona made the right call splitting up the Naylor and Suárez deals as it likely got them a higher return on the pair from Seattle. However, their strong relationship with general manager Mike Hazen made them confident they had a good chance to land both players.

"They were No. 1 and No. 2 on our list — or 1A and 1B — and we were able to reel them both in," Dipoto said. "I wouldn’t say it came together quickly. This was a long process, and one we just never put down the phone on. And I give Justin a ton of credit for the grind that he went through to bring it in. And I think we got better because of it."

Suárez received an exceptionally warm welcome as he joined the Mariners for their flight home from Sacramento on Wednesday night. The Diamondbacks flew into Sacramento ahead of their series with the Athletics and Suárez was able to catch the team before they returned to Seattle. Suárez went down the aisle of the plane giving hugs to just about everyone before the plane managed to take off.

"Obviously, it was a special moment to see all my teammates on the plane cheer for me," Suárez said. "It’s something that I obviously feel really good (about) because I see everybody in the same place, so I got to say hello to everybody together."

Dipoto said he almost cried calling Suárez about the trade as he was thrilled to bring him back to the Mariners. He called the trade to send Suárez to Arizona in late 2023 "one of the least favorite trades" he ever made.

"At the time, we were trying to manage maybe a more restrictive payroll as we went into that offseason, and what we didn’t know the day we traded Geno to Arizona was that we were later going to be able to make a deal with the Braves that kind of answered our needs," Dipoto said. " … If we could have called and asked for a re-do … that would have been great. But that’s not how it works."

The trade of Marco Gonzales, Jarred Kelenic and Evan White to Atlanta cleared over $20 million in payroll space, which may have led to a different path forward.

"I understand this being a business like that and to get traded here and see my teammates and see everybody, and see the fans ask for me in different places I went before (I) got traded. A lot of Mariners fans ask for me. It means a lot to be back and feel the love again, not only from my teammates, but from the fans," Suárez said.

The Suárez addition Wednesday night overshadowed the add of Ferguson earlier in the day. However, he's a productive left-handed specialist that has a .167 batting average against to left-handed hitters with a .439 OPS against. He's allowed one extra-base hit to lefties in 66 at-bats vs. lefties this season.

"Caleb's pitched in postseasons. He's been around for a long time. He neutralizes left-hand hitters, and he's done it effectively for a number of years. So we're pretty happy with what we've done," Dipoto said.

Seattle was trying to add one more bullpen piece before the deadline, with Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Durán reportedly a top target.

"I was fascinated with what was happening with relievers around the league," Dipoto said. "We were in a lot of those conversations for weeks now on the back-end bullpen guys, and felt like we were in the end zone in one case, and near the goal line in some others."

The Twins instead dealt Durán to the Philadelphia Phillies for Single-A catcher Eduardo Tait and Triple-A right-handed pitcher Mick Abel. Both players ranked in the MLB Top 100 prospects list. The Mariners believed their offer to be every bit as competitive as the one from Philadelphia.

Dipoto said the trade of Taylor Rogers from the San Francisco Giants to the New York Mets spiked the prices on all the available bullpen arms.

While Durán absolutely would have been an ideal finishing touch, the Mariners managed to significantly upgrade their roster while not dealing a single one of their top eight prospects, which all rank in MLB's Top 100.

"Thrilled that we still have the group of high-impact players at the minor league level. We didn't really touch the top end of our system, and for the most part, that's intentional," Dipoto said. "We also didn't feel like our needs merited us getting into that group if we were able to address our needs outside of it. And like I said, in our minds, we acquired the two best bats on the market. We were ideally focused on bullpen in general, but we did want another lefty, and we thought Caleb Ferguson was as good as anybody available."

It was an exceptionally busy trade deadline across baseball with numerous deals rolling in before the 3 p.m. PT deadline on Thursday. It's reflective of a belief that multiple teams have a shot at winning the World Series this year.

"The American League is wide open, and I think the behavior of the teams in the league shows who thinks they have a shot and we're among them," Dipoto said.

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