The Miami Marlins went into the All-Star break feeling pretty good about themselves after sweeping the Seattle Mariners. A 12-game losing streak later, the picture looks a lot different, and another deadline sell-off is suddenly back on the table. That puts Seattle in position to shop with them.
According to Will Sammon, Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of The Athletic, Miami has adjusted its approach ahead of the August 3 trade deadline and is now at least open to hearing offers on four players: infielders Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards, catcher/DH Liam Hicks and outfielder Heriberto Hernández.
For the Mariners, Hicks is the easy pass. They don’t need another catcher, and another left-handed bat doesn’t really move the needle. The other three are a much more interesting conversation.
Lopez and Edwards both make sense as middle-infield options, even if the fit isn’t perfect on paper. Between them, they’ve logged just 37.0 major league innings at third base, which is probably Seattle’s cleanest opening for an infielder.
But that doesn’t have to shut the door. Cole Young appears locked in at second base, while shortstop is less settled.
Colt Emerson has shown a little life lately, but for the most part he’s looked overmatched since arriving in the majors in May. The Mariners may eventually decide he deserves the same “Nice try, kid, but let's have someone else take over” treatment Young got last year.
If Seattle is choosing between the two Miami infielders, Lopez is the more appealing target. He hits right-handed, and the Mariners have been looking for that kind of balance for a while.
He’s also putting together a loud season: an MLB-best .328 average, a league-leading 27 doubles, plus 22 stolen bases and strong defense. That’s the kind of all-around production that can change the feel of a lineup fast.
Edwards brings a different profile. He’s more of a pesky contact hitter with a solid glove, the sort of player who can grind at-bats and keep things moving. He also offers switch-hitting value, and the splits are almost identical - a .775 OPS as a left-handed hitter and a .773 OPS as a right-handed hitter.
There’s also the contract angle. Lopez, 27, and Edwards, 26, are both under control through 2029.
Baseball Trade Values pegs Lopez at $29.6 million in surplus value and Edwards at $27.1 million, putting them in the same neighborhood as Emerson Hancock at $24.3 million. And Sammon and Rosenthal have already reported that Hancock is available.
If Seattle doesn’t land one of those two, Hernández still looks like a worthwhile name to keep on the board.
With Rob Refsnyder back in the lineup and already hitting, the Mariners may not need to chase every right-handed outfielder on the market. But Hernández gives them a reason to stay involved.
He has played 165 games in the majors and owns a 119 OPS+ with 25 home runs. This season, he’s been especially dangerous against lefties, posting a .921 OPS with eight of his 15 homers.
That matters for a Mariners team that still ranks 28th in MLB with a .657 OPS against left-handed pitching, even after a five-homer showing against Los Angeles Dodgers southpaws on Tuesday. At best, Hernández would give Seattle another bat to pair with Refsnyder. At worst, he could become the replacement if Refsnyder’s OPS stays stuck in the .400s.
With the right-handed bat market thinned out by injuries, the Marlins may have ended up as the team that can help Seattle most. Nothing is guaranteed, but now the Mariners at least have a real menu to work from before Monday’s deadline.
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