Seattle Mariners MLB Trade and Roster Rumors: Team Interested in Twins Right-Hander Ervin Santana
Starting pitching has been a problem all season for the Seattle Mariners, and with James Paxton joining fellow starters Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma and Drew Smyly on the disabled list, the team had to find a way to address the issue before they drop further behind in the American League (AL) wild-card standings.
The Seattle Times' Ryan Divish has reported that the Mariners have actually reached out to the Minnesota Twins to see if Ervin Santana is available. However, talks are reportedly on hold as of the moment because the Twins have moved ahead of the Mariners in the AL wild-card race.
Right now, the Twins are five games behind the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central. But after their recent surge up the standings, they are now in possession of the second wild-card spot (by percentage points). The team is likely to make more additions this month.
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On the other hand, the Mariners have lost five straight games and they are currently on the outside looking in.
In 24 starts with the Twins this season, Santana is 12–7 with a 3.28 earned run average (ERA) and a 1.13 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP). The right-hander also has 125 strikeouts and 51 walks in 156.1 innings pitched. Santana was named to his second All-Star team this season, and he is under club control through 2019.
Since the Twins are unlikely to trade Santana now that they are on the rise, Divish has listed the Toronto Blue Jays' Marco Estrada, the Texas Rangers' Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross, the Chicago White Sox's Miguel Gonzalez and Derek Holland, the Atlanta Braves' R.A. Dickey, and the Cincinnati Reds' Scott Feldman as viable options for the Mariners.
Divish also pointed out that acquiring Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander may not be an option right now given their recent struggles.
