Insider's Proposed Reds, Mariners Trade Would Make Cincinnati World Series Contender

The Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners have been frequent successful trade partners in recent seasons. The Reds received some top prospects from the M's for Luis Castillo last summer, and before the 2022 season, they sent Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker to Seattle in a deal that landed them one of their breakout stars this season, outfielder Jake Fraley. 

Now, with the Reds shockingly a playoff contender, in first place in the NL Central after a just-completed 12-game winning streak, MLB Insider Jon Morosi has proposed a trade on MLB Network Radio that could theoretically make Cincinnati a true World Series contender. 

Reds receive:

Logan Gilbert or George Kirby

Mariners receive:

Christian Encarnacion-Strand

+ other player(s) to be discussed

Strand is one of the top-hitting prospects in baseball, but is blocked at Triple-A because of all the other explosive young talent the Reds have on the roster right now. Strand, 23, is a 1B/3B/OF who is hitting .329 with a .403 on-base, a ridiculous .643 slugging and 1.043 OPS, with 17 HR and 49 RBIs in 53 games. 

The Mariners aren't really "sellers" right now, but they do have some serious starting pitching depth, and have significant needs on offense. They're currently 24th in baseball in slugging and OPS, and 26th in average. 

Morosi's fellow insider on MLB Network, Jim Bowden agrees that the Reds should jump on an offer like that, as getting one more top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher would be enough to give them a 1-2-3 punch along with Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott that could really take them a long way into the playoffs. 

Bowden suggests that the Mariners would probably be more comfortable with offering one of their top pitching prospects, but as a "mock"/proposed trade, the one Morosi suggests is much more fun to consider. 

Photo: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports