Red Sox should revisit trade talks with downward trending AL contender in offseason

Last offseason, rumors circulated that the Seattle Mariners were taking calls for some of their young pitching talent.

The Mariners have had one of the best starting rotations in MLB in the past two seasons, and it's packed with mostly homegrown players. Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo comprise the most elite rotation in the league, and they've posted a collective 3.39 ERA through 146 games this season.

Despite its pitchers' stellar seasons, Seattle has collected 74 wins and sits four games outside of the third American League Wild Card spot — much like the Boston Red Sox, who the Mariners are battling for a postseason bid.

Seattle's top-tier rotation has been wasted by its bats. Mariners have fanned a staggering 1,477 times this season, the most in MLB, and collected just 1,048 hits, the least in MLB. The Red Sox aren't far behind in the strikeout column with 1,415 Ks of their own, but their higher-level offense balances them out a bit more. The Sox have the fifth-most knocks in the league this season with 1,293.

Julio Rodriguez has posted a down year for the Mariners, but he still leads his squad with a .258 batting average and .314 on-base percentage. Cal Raleigh has launched 30 homers, but even they haven't been enough to give Seattle's offense a boost. This is where the Red Sox potentially come in.

Boston has had its ups and downs all across the squad this season. The Sox's bats and arms have both flirted with elite numbers, like their .839 team OPS in August that led the American League and their MLB-best 2.71 ERA in April, but the pitchers and batters rarely click at the same time.

The Red Sox and Mariners could be perfect trade partners this offseason

The Mariners have an excess of high-quality starting pitching and need the bats to back it up. The Sox have a slew of up-and-coming position player talent on the farm and not enough lineup space for all of them. They also have notorious struggles with developing pitchers. Seattle and Boston could be ideal trade partners when the offseason begins.

The Red Sox's middle infield is set to be packed next season. Trevor Story, Vaughn Grissom, David Hamilton, Ceddanne Rafaela, Enmanuel Valdez, Nick Sogard, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell will likely all need positions in the major leagues next season. Rafaela can also play the outfield, but there isn't much less traffic there — Rafaela, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Rob Refsnyder, Masataka Yoshida and newly-crowned top prospect Roman Anthony could all be in competition for outfield jobs in spring training.

Rafaela, Story and Yoshida are all under contract long-term, and Mayer and Anthony have been regarded as "untouchable" in trades. Duran's MVP-caliber season has hopefully convinced Boston to keep him around as long as possible. Campbell may have moved into the same elite prospect camp as Mayer and Anthony. Besides any of them, the Sox are still left with a slew of MLB-ready, tradeable players, and dozens more high-average hitters in the minor leagues.

Woo is considered Seattle's most likely trade candidate, and his 2.38 ERA would look fantastic alongside Tanner Houck, Richard Fitts, Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello in the rotation next season. Any of the Mariners' pitchers would improve the Red Sox's staff and the Red Sox have enough players to trade for anyone Seattle will put on the market.

Boston's front office has been unwilling to spend big-market amounts of money in recent offseasons. Ownership's stinginess could mean the only way the Sox acquire any top-tier pitching talent is through trades, and the Mariners have the most quality options.

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