It’s been an interesting offseason for the Seattle Mariners as the team has been quite active in selling pieces as opposed to adding to their big league roster. That was the case, however, until over the weekend they acquired Luke Raley from the Tampa Bay Rays and sent Robbie Ray to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Mitch Haniger and Anthony DeSclafani. Overnight they have seemingly finalized their outfield options but one area of interest the team hopes to address, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, happens to be the infield, specifically second base and potentially third base.

As it stands, the Mariners are projected to have Luis Urias and Josh Rojas start at third base and second base respectively. It’s understandable that the team would be desirous to bring in some infield help to offset the uncertainty of that tandem. From 2021-22, both Urias (.244/.340/.426, 111 wRC+) and Rojas (.266/.345/.401, 106 wRC+) were above-average performers at the plate, but both saw regression in the 2023 season.

Rojas batted just .240/.303/.338 in 350 plate appearances and saw his walk rate drop to 7.7% as well as his strikeout rate rise to 23.2%. The same could be said for Urias who struggled to a .194/.337/.299 slash in 155 plate appearances and while he maintained his walk rate, also saw his strikeouts go up. Both hitters do better with the platoon advantage — Rojas against righties, Urias against lefties — so the Mariners would likely benefit from having the two of them man one position while acquiring a permanent starter for the other.

This is where the prospect of the Rockies being a source of help could be the answer.

Marred by numerous problems, the Rockies lost a franchise-record 103 games in 2023 and are nowhere near expected to compete in the near future. The team is slowly rebuilding (even if they won’t acknowledge that fact) but now is the time for them to pursue and/or consider trading away pieces that won’t be helping them in the long term. The best trade candidate the team could have that would help the Mariners is second baseman Brendan Rodgers.

Drafted third overall in 2015, Rodgers hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype with the Rockies. The reason for this is the fact that Rodgers’s big league career has been hindered by injury. Despite playing in parts of five seasons, Rodgers has just two seasons in which he played in 100 or more games and even those were shorted by injury. From 2019-23 the former top prospect in the Rockies system has batted .265/.317/.410 with 32 home runs and 143 RBI over 317 games.

When healthy, Rodgers has shown that he can be a productive hitter in the lineup. Between 2021-22, Rodgers played 239 games, .274/.326/.434 with 51 doubles, six triples, 28 home runs and 114 RBI along with a 93 wRC+. After missing the majority of the 2023 season with a shoulder injury, Rodgers returned for the team’s final 46 games, batting .258/.313/.388 with four home runs. He struggled in his initial return, but September displayed a turnaround for the infielder. He hit all four of his home runs that month and had a .803 OPS and .290 AVG.

Rodgers has shown an ability to hit for plenty of power and make plenty of contact at the cost of drawing walks. His career 6.2% walk rate is two ticks below league average as is his 20.1% strikeout rate. The biggest detriment to his offensive approach has been his tendency to hit ground balls. For his career, Rodgers has a 52% ground ball rate and led the league in 2022 with 25 double plays grounded into. He makes plenty of contact, something the Mariners are looking for, but does have a tendency to chase bad pitches and make bad contact. Still, it’s hard to gauge what exactly Rodgers can do because of the injuries he has dealt with, but there is plenty of upside that the Mariners would be able to benefit from.

Rodgers is just 27 with another year of club control before he becomes a free agent after the 2025 season. A trade for Rodgers, while still a gamble of sorts, does provide a bit more stability for the Mariners at second base while keeping their options open moving forward. Generally, he has done quite well against both lefties and righties in his young career, showcasing that he won’t need a platoon situation. His value is also worth its weight in gold thanks to his defensive capabilities.

Barring any health problems, Rodgers has the capability to play 140 games or more and provide Gold Glove-worthy defense. In 2022, Rodgers won his first career Gold Glove for his stellar work at second base. He led all second basemen with 99 double plays, 411 assists, 3.17 assists-per-nine innings, and 19 diving plays. He led all second basemen and finished second in all of MLB in Defensive Runs Saved with 22 that season and his 3.0 Defensive Wins Above Replacement tied for the best in the sport.

Since 2021 he ranks in the top five in multiple defensive categories across the sport for second baseman. His 16 DRS from 2021-23, is better than all the second basemen deployed by the Mariners combined (2 DRS). Should Rodgers have stayed healthy for the 2023 season, it’s likely he would have defended his title for the Gold Glove.

With Rodgers, the Mariners would get a cost-controlled primary starter that can be a real benefit offensively and a revelation defensively. There are drawbacks to his game, but he is also a player who is primed to benefit from a change of scenery and team that could help boost his hitting philosophy. His struggles are a representation of some of the struggles the Rockies have had at the plate in the last four years, so his faults may not tell the entire story of who he is as a hitter.

Now, acquiring Rodgers would likely mean the Mariners have to part ways with one of their pitching prospects who is on the cusp of the big leagues. It’s well known the Rockies are hungry and desperate for starting pitching, and the Mariners have plenty of options. They have the capital to get a trade completed, but it’s uncertain if the Mariners would want to dip into that pool. Jerry Dipoto, a former pitcher for the Rockies and current president of baseball operations for the Mariners told Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times that retaining his stock of young arms was  “Plan A” this offseason.

“We did a lot of groundwork on what it might look like if we did trade one of those young starters, and we never liked the way it looked,” Dipoto said.

On paper, the trade could be beneficial to both parties. Rodgers doesn’t exactly fit into the long-term plans for the Rockies as they have plenty of prospects surging to the big leagues that can play second base. Rodgers has been involved in multiple trade rumors over the years and it feels bound to happen at some point. Still, the Mariners may look to the free agent market for someone like Whit Merrifield or other third base options, but it’s my belief that a trade for Rodgers could prove to be the best move they could make.