Mariners right-hander George Kirby is drawing trade interest from “multiple teams,” according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. While this isn’t surprising, the intriguing new wrinkle is that these clubs “get the sense [Kirby] is available and could be moved before the Aug. 3 deadline.”
A trade ultimately seems unlikely, as noted by the Seattle Times’ Adam Jude and Ryan Divish, since prying Kirby away from the M’s would surely come at a high price for any team. But, a Mariners source told the Times duo that “we’ll consider anything” as the deadline approaches. To that end, Jude and Divish feel that impending free agent Randy Arozarena figures to draw some trade interest before Monday.
Trade rumors have long circled around the Mariners’ rotation core of Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, Bryan Woo, Emerson Hancock, and Bryce Miller, with the idea being that the offense-needy M’s would be willing to move a premium arm for a premium bat. Seattle has mostly rebuffed these offers, though the club has reportedly been open to moving Castillo for the last couple of years because Castillo is the oldest member of the group, and the only one on a pricey a long-term contract.
The most recent reports have suggested the Mariners could cover some of the money remaining on Castillo’s contract in order to facilitate a deal. Conversely, Hancock is also available in trade talks, as Hancock has revived his trade value with a solid 2026 season. Moving a controllable arm like Hancock would allow Seattle to obtain a solid trade return while keeping its usual starting five intact, plus prospects Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan are knocking on the door of their own MLB debuts.
Trading Kirby would be a fascinating pivot for the Mariners. The former All-Star is inexpensive at the moment (about $2.16MM remains of Kirby’s $6.65MM salary for 2026) and is arbitration-controlled through 2028. Kirby projects to earn around $23MM or so over the 2027-28 seasons, which is a bargain price for a right-hander who has looked like a frontline arm at his best.
The 20th overall pick of the 2019 draft has lived up to his former top-prospect status, though Kirby hasn’t quite been the same since a shoulder impingement delayed his 2025 debut until the back end of May. Kirby has a 4.10 ERA, 23.9% strikeout rate, and 5.3% walk rate over 246 innings in 2025-26 — obviously still very solid numbers, but a slight step back from his performance over his first three seasons. The last two years have seen Kirby allow a lot of hard contact, and his K% and whiff rate has both dropped off sharply from 2025.
It’s hard to call this a real decline in any sense, especially since Kirby remains one of baseball’s best control pitchers. Still, if the Mariners have any internal reservations about Kirby, it could explain why the club might now at least be willing to hear what other teams might be willing to give up to land the 28-year-old righty.
Seattle might also have an eye on the long-term viability of its rotation core. Gilbert is arb-controlled through 2027, Kirby through 2028, Woo and Miller through 2029, and Hancock through 2030. Castillo’s contract is guaranteed through 2027, plus a $25MM option for 2028 will vest if Castillo tosses at least 180 innings in 2027 and is healthy at season’s end. Extending all of the arb-eligible group isn’t feasible, so there has long been speculation over which of the group will be targeted for long-term extensions and which might be dealt.
Even though Arozarena is a free agent at season’s end, moving him at this point might be about as surprising as a Kirby trade, given how the Mariners are in need of offense. As Jude and Divish point out, of course, the Mariners may no longer be approaching the deadline with the intent of buying for 2026, since the M’s are coming off a brutal July. Seattle was in first place in the AL West with a 47-44 record on July 6, but a subsequent 6-14 record has dropped the M’s three games out of both the division lead and the final AL wild card berth.
Suddenly a lot hinges on this weekend’s two games with the Twins, which are the Mariners’ last two contests before an off-day on the August 3 deadline day. Two more losses might push the M’s into more of a selling direction, but since the team is still clearly in a win-now position overall, the Mariners might look to move some assets now to help them cut payroll and set themselves up to reload for 2027.
Dealing Kirby could be a step in this direction, but Arozarena would suddenly become one of the top bats available in a trade market thin on impact hitters. Arozarena is on pace for the best of his eight MLB seasons, as his 141 wRC+ would mark a new career high. The outfielder is hitting .280/.375/.447 over 440 plate appearances, along with 13 homers, and 20 steals (out of 26 attempts).
Salary-wise, Arozarena is owed around $5.16MM of his $15.65MM salary for the 2026 season. It’s not a hefty sum even for smaller-market teams, so contenders of all payroll sizes should theoretically be able to fit Arozarena pretty smoothly into their budgets. Such a wide-open market might tempt the Mariners to at least see what they can get for the slugger, even if the club isn’t quite willing to throw away their playoff hopes just yet. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto is no stranger to creative trades, so a world exists where the M’s could move Arozarena and Kirby for cheaper and more cost-controlled offense, so Seattle could save some money and still take a run at the playoffs.
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