The Seattle Mariners are running out of runway before the trade deadline, and ESPN’s Buster Olney thinks another name could make sense for them.
Olney, speaking Friday on the “Refuse to Lose Territory” podcast, pointed to San Francisco Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos as a possible fit for Seattle. The idea comes as the Mariners try to steady themselves after being swept by the Miami Marlins in three games and entering Friday at 47-47, sitting 0.5 games behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West.
Seattle still has one more series to get through before the All-Star break, and it’s a tough one. The Mariners face the American League-leading Rays this weekend, with Dan Wilson’s club set to deal with elite starting pitching in all three games.
Then comes another major item on the calendar: the MLB Draft in Philadelphia this weekend. Once that’s over, attention shifts fully to the trade deadline, which is Aug. 3.
The Mariners’ needs are pretty clear. They’re looking for a right-handed bat who can handle left-handed pitching and a reliever who can work in medium-to-high leverage.
Olney had already floated Taylor Ward of the Baltimore Orioles as a strong match for Seattle last week. On Friday, he brought up Ramos as another possibility.
“Earlier this week, he had the game where he had, what? Two homers and a triple.
I suspect there's going to be some play on Heliot Ramos, but again, we're only talking about that specifically because the Giants are one of the few teams that have actually declared themselves to be sellers.
We're going to hear about more teams being sellers over the next two weeks, but at the moment, it doesn't feel like there are a lot."
Ramos, 26, is from Puerto Rico and has spent five seasons with the Giants. He made the All-Star team in 2024 and is hitting .276 this season with eight homers and 28 RBIs. He owns a 122 OPS+ and is batting .314 against left-handed pitching with a .353 on-base percentage.
One detail that could matter for Seattle: Ramos is under contract through 2029, a setup that may appeal to a Mariners front office that generally avoids rental deals.
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