MLB Trade Rumors: Seattle Mariners interested in Casey McGehee
By Hayden Kane
The Seattle Mariners continue their search for a right-handed bat as the July 31st trade deadline approaches. As part of those efforts, they have reportedly contacted the Miami Marlins about possibly dealing for third baseman Casey McGehee.
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McGehee might not be hitting the ball out of the park very often (or ever), but he is sure driving in a lot of runs. Jon Heyman reports that a number of interested teams have been asking the Marlins about a potential trade for McGehee, with the Mariners chief among them.
Having taken a year away from Major League Baseball in 2013 to play in Japan, McGehee has returned with authority. While some might have questioned the Marlins and their decision to hand the everyday third base job to him, all McGehee has done is bat .322/.389/.399 with 56 driven in. When McGehee’s name has been mentioned in trade talks previously, the Marlins have seemed reluctant to move him.
Yes, he only has two home runs, but with those RBI and on-base skills McGehee has posted a 123 wRC+ and has been a two win player thus far (2.2 fWAR). As far as a move that an offense-needy team could make at the deadline, landing McGehee could make a significant difference. He will hold appeal to both NL and AL teams because of his ability to play multiple positions.
The Mariners could use McGehee in a number of spots, first base prime among them after the demotion of Justin Smoak on Tuesday. They still have the struggling Logan Morrison in the fold, but it is hard to overstate the improvement that would come to Seattle’s overall offense if they acquired a competent hitter like McGehee.