The Seattle Mariners have been one of the most active MLB teams on the trade market and that's good news for the Miami Marlins, who have been wanting to find a suitor for outfielder Marcell Ozuna, according to rumors.
On Tuesday night ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reported the Mariners were working on a deal to acquire Ozuna from the Marlins and that the talks "ultimately hinge" on whether Seattle has a young starter they'd be willing to part ways with for the outfielder.
The only problem is that the M's are seemingly unwilling to trade Taijuan Walker and it's unknown if any of their other starters would suffice in a deal for Ozuna. However, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald later reported that Miami "could be looking" at starters Roenis Elias and Nathan Karns. But would one of those two be enough for a 25-year-old outfielder one season removed from hitting 23 home runs?
What's interesting is that Joe Frisaro of MLB.com said the two sides "could be aiming to complete a larger deal than simply Ozuna for a starting pitcher."
Seattle recently acquired center fielder Leonys Martin from the Texas Rangers, so it's possible they have other ideas in mind in terms of the players involved in this potential trade and/or where they would use Ozuna, who has played 284 out of his 342 career MLB games in center field.
There's a lot to consider in this trade scenario, which is why Frisaro reports "nothing is imminent" right now.
It's also important to keep in mind that the M's are apparently looking to trade 1B/OF Mark Trumbo this winter, according to Crasnick. It's possible he could be part of a bigger deal, but due to his annual salary as well as the presence of Justin Bour at first base in Miami, it's unknown where he'd fit in. One potential scenario would involve moving Christian Yelich to center field and putting Trumbo in left.
As for the Mariners, they can put Ozuna in left and round off their outfield if general manager Jerry Dipoto feels that'd work. If they can rid themselves of Trumbo as well, then Jesus Montero could take over on a full-time basis at first.
These two clubs will have to get creative to make such a trade work. Stay tuned for updates as talks will probably get more intense as the Winter Meetings approach.
