Mariners reportedly finalists to land All-Star, batting champ at deadline

The Seattle Mariners love making trades. And with mere hours to go before the official trade deadline, general manager Jerry Dipoto appears to be hard at work.

Early Friday morning, the Mariners acquired outfielder Randy Arozarena from the Tampa Bay Rays. That afternoon, they brought in reliever Yimi Garcia from the Toronto Blue Jays. And on Monday, they called Toronto back to acquire first baseman Justin Turner.

Now, it appears Dipoto is back on the phone with Tampa Bay, trying to get one more deal across the finish line.

The subject of that call? First baseman Yandy Díaz.

MLB insider Francys Romero reported on Tuesday afternoon that the Mariners were "in" on the final pursuit for Díaz ahead of the 6 p.m. trade deadline. Romero said the New York Yankees and Houston Astros were two other teams "in," with the Pittsburgh Pirates "out."

Díaz, 32, could be an enormous deadline acquisition if he regains his 2023 form. He won the American League batting title a season ago, hitting .330 with a .932 OPS. He's warmed up after a slow start, setting a new Rays franchise record with a 20-game hitting streak in June.

First base has been the number-one Achilles heel for the Mariners' offense this season. Longtime starter Ty France struggled so badly that he was eventually waived and traded to the Cincinnati Reds. And rookie Tyler Locklear is hitting .156 with a 40.8% strikeout rate.

Any help at first base would make the Mariners a much more viable contender in the AL West. Currently, they are tied with the Houston Astros, though they have a worse winning percentage by less than a hundredth of a point.

The Rays have been open for business all deadline, trading big names such as Arozarena, Isaac Paredes, Zach Eflin and Jason Adam. Perhaps Díaz could be the last big name to join his teammates on the way out of Tropicana Field.

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