MLB Rumors: A's Set High Price In Trade Talks With Mariners

All signs are that the Oakland A's are getting set for a fire sale when baseball transactions can resume. One team that's come a-calling is the Seattle Mariners, who have a hole at third base to fill, now that Kyle Seager has hung up the cleats. 

As noted by Ryan Divish in the Seattle Times, the M's "would love to add Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman for a reasonable return of prospects."

However, he also notes that "multiple baseball sources said that the A’s would almost certainly ask for Mariners shortstop prospect Noelvi Marte as part of the return." 

Marte is the No. 11 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, a 20-year-old with an excellent combination of both power and speed. Making this deal a difficult one to envision, is this statement by Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry DiPoto: “There’s no scenario where we will move the top prospects in our system, the guys who are prominent in our system."

When asked how deep into their prospect rankings that goes, he said it goes "further than (our) Top 10", of which Marte clearly is.

The Mariners added Adam Frazier from San Diego before the lockout, likely to man 2nd base. But the team still has its sights set on adding more offense to the lineup for 2022. 

Chapman had an off-year at the plate, as his batting average dropped to .210, but he still saw 27 longballs leave the yard, and has a career OPS in the low .800s. 

Right now, Abraham Toro is listed as the potential Seager successor at third, but as Divish wrote in his report, "If Toro is starting at third base and Frazier is starting at second base in the opening day lineup for the Mariners, it means something will have gone very wrong in their offseason plans to add impact hitters to their lineup."

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