Familiar New York Mets rumors linking them to the Seattle Mariners as potential trade partners for a deal centered on Jeff McNeil resurfaced last week. Their absence of a second baseman with Jorge Polanco sitting in free agency makes him a logical fit with several hurdles to overcome to make it work.
The Mariners are notably on a tight budget and the idea of them selling a contract like Luis Castillo to the Mets in exchange for McNeil is the starting point of a reasonable trade that would make sense. However, even that has some issues.
If not McNeil, the Mets have a few others who could be of interest to the Mariners. As Sodo Mojo, the Mariners’ FanSided page, took a look into, there are several Mets players who fit their most urgent needs.
Three Mets players not named Jeff McNeil who could interest the Mariners
1) Ronny Mauricio
The Mariners could use a second baseman, third baseman, and some bench players. Ronny Mauricio fits at least one of those descriptors. The Mets used him regularly at third base and thanks to his size and range he showed at the position last year, feels like someone who could grow into the position well. The biggest downer of his 2025 season was easily his inability to hit left-handed pitching. With a remaining minor league option, the Mets have no real urgency to trade him, but also have some added trade value.
2) Brett Baty
You can’t mention Mauricio as a trade candidate without bringing up Brett Baty too. However, trading him creates a new problem for the Mets. He’s the consensus favorite to start at third base next year. Subtract him and there is major fallout. The Mets are suddenly looking for a new third baseman (it’s definitely not coming from within). This may only work if the team was to go light at first base and maybe sign a player like Alex Bregman. Too many moving parts to feel satisfying from a Mets side, it doesn’t take away from the idea that he is a match for the Mariners. They could, as he showed in 2025, even use him at second base.
3) Mark Vientos
Mark Vientos isn’t much of a fielder. The Mariners have a first baseman with Josh Naylor returning. What they could use is a DH. Vientos isn’t going to play too many defensive innings this coming year whether it’s with the Mets, Mariners, or a backyard wiffle ball game. An offense-first player, Vientos doesn’t fit in well with the Mets’ protocol of improving run prevention. He’s a negative in that regard. So, if the Mariners are interested, he feels like a good chip to send out west.
