D-backs slugger and former Mariner Eugenio Suárez is reported to be the Mariners’ top trade target, but he’s not a surefire bet to be available with Arizona on the periphery of the NL Wild Card chase. Seattle wouldn’t put all of its eggs in one basket anyhow — Suárez would have several motivated bidders trying to acquire him — so it’s not a big surprise to see Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post report that the Mariners are among the teams to show interest in Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon.
[Related: Seattle Mariners Trade Deadline Outlook]
The 30-year-old McMahon wouldn’t bring the same type of power as Suárez, but he’s younger with a much better glove and is signed for an additional two seasons. After a brutal start to his season and a poor final few months in 2024, McMahon has bounced back to his previous form. Dating back to May 1, he’s slashing .249/.333/.478 with 14 home runs, a dozen doubles and a triple. His 11.2% walk rate is strong, though a 29.7% strikeout rate in that span and a lengthy history of sub-par contact skills does present one concern.
McMahon does have pronounced home/road splits. He entered play Wednesday batting .253/.368/.500 at Coors Field and .189/.265/.324 on the road. He’d hardly be the first player to struggle on the road while playing home games at altitude and then even things out when traded to a more neutral setting, though. Prominent names like Matt Holliday, Dexter Fowler and Nolan Arenado (among others) have shown considerable home/road splits while playing for the Rockies before going on to find plenty of success elsewhere. That said, going from Coors Field to Seattle’s T-Mobile Park — perhaps the most pitcher-friendly setting in MLB — would potentially be a rude awakening.
McMahon has been particularly hot of late, hitting in six straight games and batting .345/.406/.848 with four homers and two doubles across his past eight contests. (That does not include the walk he drew in his first plate appearance of today’s game.) He’s being paid $12MM in 2025 — with about $4.32MM yet to be paid out — and is owed $16MM per year in 2026-27.
Although McMahon isn’t as complete a player as Matt Chapman, his remaining contract (which covers his age-31 and age-32 seasons) is a fraction of the six-year, $151MM contract Chapman signed starting in his age-32 season. McMahon’s contract looks affordable by comparison, and while much of the Mariners’ activity over the past two years has been dictated by ownership mandates to scale back payroll, ownership is reportedly willing to bump the payroll at this summer’s deadline.
Third base has been a weak spot for the Mariners throughout the season. Rookie Ben Williamson has been the primary option for Seattle, providing strong defense but virtually nothing in terms of power or on-base skills. The 24-year-old Williamson, Seattle’s second-round pick in 2023, rushed to the majors after just 14 games in Triple-A. He’s hitting .256/.289/.315 with one home run in his first 268 major league plate appearances.
Entering the season, the hope was that veteran switch-hitter Jorge Polanco — who re-signed as a free agent over the winter — would transition from second base to third base. Knee and side injuries have left Polanco as a designated hitter more often than not, however. His bat has more than held up its end of the equation, evidenced by a strong .254/.313/.462 slash with 15 homers and a tiny 14.2% strikeout rate. Polanco has played just 113 innings in the field this season, however.
[Related: Colorado Rockies Trade Deadline Outlook]
As for the Rockies, they tend not to be particularly active on the summer trade market even in non-contending seasons. They have a reputation for holding players well past the point at which their trade value reaches its apex. That’s arguably already happened with McMahon, though his resurgent play since May has done plenty of work to rebuild some of the value he’d lost over the past three to four months of play.
Saunders is the latest of several prominent reporters to suggest that with the Rockies bottoming out so significantly in 2025, they could well be more amenable to trading some veteran players over the next eight days. ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote similarly today, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic suggested as much earlier in the month as well.
Doesn’t mean Colorado will trade him 🤦♂️
I’m curious which sentence you interpreted as suggesting he’s guaranteed to be moved.
I don’t think he will at all honestly. Monfort has too much purple pride to get a nickel off somebody for McMahon.
I agree, I was just a little confused because it sounded like you were disagreeing with something said in the article (especially with the accompanying facepalm emoji) but I’m thinking I misinterpreted that.
I don’t have to read the article to know the Rockies chances of moving McMahon are far more none than slim here.
They are just incompetent across the board and it’s showing full effect.
If you aren’t going anywhere get something you might as well.
That wasn’t what I was implying haha but I get your point now, I think.
Bad match, too many K’s!!!
McMahon has been a really really solid defender over his career, but he’s been awful offensively outside of Coors his entire career.
Like the post mentions, plenty of guys have seen their home/road splits even out once moving away from Colorado.
Arenado has been out of Colorado for 5 seasons now, and in only one of those 5 was he an elite hitter similar to his Colorado days (2022). He’s been otherwise a mostly ever so slightly above average hitter. He left his bat in Colorado.
Also, most of the guys who did maintain some form after leaving the Rox were elite hitters. McMahon has played parts of 8 seasons in Colorado, and has yet to record a single season with an OPS+ or wRC+ of 100 or better.
For his career, he’s a 92 OPS+ and a 89 wRC+
Even if his splits somehow balance out after leaving Coors, that means he’ll still be a below average hitter.
If I’m Seattle, I don’t want to sign this guy to a free agent contract, much less trade away assets to get him. He’s a utility/bench player for them.
No he just got old. The last three years he was 32 and over. The first two years in St Louis he was about career average in year one, then had the best season of his career (by a wide margin).
Most Rockies hitters even out their home/road splits when they leave, for the simple reason that hitting at sea level after being used to hitting at altitude is at least as hard as hitting at Coors is easy.
Yeah, that has more to do with Arenado being out of his prime than players being unable to adjust. His splits have evened out more, which is the whole point. It’s unsurprising that an aging player has declined substantially.
The last thing the Mariners need is a high strikeout guy to come play in the toughest hitters park in all of MLB.
Umm … isn’t that exactly what you want at a tough hitters park? A power hitter who doesn’t rely on BABiP?
No because T-Mobile park rises RH k rates by like 2-8%
Ryan McMahon is a power hitter?? A career .420 slugging. He’s a utility player at best.
Seam- Yes, and the statistics back it up but people have written their own incorrect narrative.
Sillywabbit- The Mariners contracted an analysis company for a long-term study to show which players had the most success at T-Mobile and it concluded that powerful hitters who lift the ball contribute the most to positive run addition, regardless of anything else. The way to score here is to hit for power. You are better off having swing and miss to your game than below average launch angle because the ball hangs up in the marine layer.
I feel like Williamson is basically McMahon.
Pretty much. Just with a little less power. Ben Doesn’t cost you anything and gives you the opportunity to grow. This move would make zero sense for the future and for the present.
With a FAR superior glove & better average.
There isn’t a 3B in baseball except the Machados and Arenados and Chapmans of the world who are as good as McMahon with the glove. He’s spectacular. Also a very good 2B.
Hays is better or equal with glove
15% chance Colorado trades him
Expecting FanDuel Network to start showing odds of people being traded any day now.
That’s what Manfred should do next. The broadcast team showing the odds of trade candidates and to which team. I’m sure Robby is salivating right now at the thought.
The Mariners need some offense. I get that the guy is a good defender but he’s not going to get better by going to Seattle.
They were in the top ten in offense two days ago
Probably not a top 5 candidate for me, but wouldn’t hate it if the price is right.
He’s just not an upgrade over Williamson when you consider he’s not exactly killing the ball at the plate and comes without Williamson’s level of elite defense. And he’s expensive. So…. What the **** is the front office even thinking with this one? Dude can’t crush the ball at altitude, what do they think happens in TMobile?
They don’t have the testicular fortitude to make the big move. The big move that is needed. So with this move, they can pretend like they did something.
If the offers the Mariners get aren’t fair/equal, they should stand pat. They shouldn’t do a short sided trade just to appease some fans only to get bounced in the first or second round. An example would be those calling for Harry Ford to be traded to AZ for 4 months of Eugino Suarez.
I know nothing about this Williamson dude, but I can almost guarantee you McMahon is a better defender.
“I know nothing about this Williamson dude” proceeds to guarantee that he’s a worse defender. This season Ben Williamson is 2nd in the Majors (behind Ke’Bryan Hayes) amongst 3B in DRS and has a better fielding % and a higher dWAR than McMahon in ~200 less innings. Now obviously McMahon has shown good defensive work over a longer period of time compared to Williamson being a rookie but at best McMahon would maybe be a minor defensive upgrade but not significantly enough, nor is Williamson a bad enough defender, that the Ms should give up anything of significant value.
Ignorance is bliss. Not Ryan Bliss.
”I know nothing about this Williamson dude” — okay then why speak? Do your homework first lol
Imagine not hitting at Coors and trying to figure it out in Seattle 😵💫
He’s never had an OPS+ over 100 even with playing at Coors Field. He’s a utility guy at best, nowhere near worth giving up prospects.
Mariners don’t have the balls to go after the big names needed to get over the hump. This organization is perfectly fine swimming in the moat of mediocrity.
54 percent baby!
Do you remember the 2022 and 2024 deadline, when they acquired the best pitcher and best hitter available, respectively?
And they traded very little. Suarez is going to require big names to leave. They’re too scared to do that.
Me thinks this sounds familiar.
Suarez has less value than Arozarena had
Suarez is a rental. The team that gives up the most for a rental is foolish then…
They choose not to get fleeced. They won’t & shouldn’t empty the farm for “a chance”. The same people in favor of those kind of moves are the same ones who would complain when the farm is decimated & they didn’t win it all. The best chance at long term success is to emulate the Rays (& it helps that the M’s have a bigger budget).
I get it, some would be fine trading away all the top prospects for one championship.
Not everyone roots the same way. I’d rather have a reasonable chance at winning it all every year for the next 20.
The Mariners seem to overvalue their own prospects and constrained by budget, so by choosing “not to get fleeced”, they end up not making any significant deals.
The Mariners choose to be satisfied with being good enough to fool their fans at being good but not being good enough to do anything worthwhile
No! If he’s a 700 ops at coors then he’s a 600 at t-mobile!
We already have Ben Williamson as the strong defender at 3rd and he’s a lot cheaper
I demand good vibes only back
Either get Suarez or stick with your in-house options. I don’t think Jerry would get this guy.
My team has needs for sure, but I’m hoping players like this get traded elsewhere so they don’t end up with them.
Might as well keep Williamson in the lineup since McMahon numbers will not translate to TMobile park.
Stick with Williamson
Please please please DO NOT do this. You didn’t want to pay Geno a smaller salary and McMahon is effectively Coors Field Williamson anyways (below average hitter with strong glove).
It is Geno or bust at addressing 3B.
Could trade for Vientos. He can at least hit homers and doubles at TMobile.
His defense is suspect at best.
Bat could help Seattle a lot.
Vientos has been garbage this season. His defense is a disaster and offensively he’s been below average with a bad xwOBA.
Imo I’d much rather the Ms chase a 1B/DH than a 3B. Williamson is giving them good enough defense that any acquisition at 3B has to be for their bat. McMahon is probably more of a sidegrade than an actual upgrade so for a team with cap concerns why acquire a big salary that likely won’t move the needle when you can just keep rolling with your cheaper, similar option at 3B and use the funds elsewhere.
If it isn’t Geno then go after Naylor if his price isn’t as high. And if Naylor’s price is too high then go after O’Hearn. Solano has come back down to Earth after a hot June and I’d rather Raley be limited to a corner OF/1B/DH role. While Polanco has been solid this year, he’s a season-ending injury risk waiting to happen given his current health.
Oof. McMahon in that park would be HORRIBLE.
I don’t believe this. McMahon makes zero sense for Seattle. Huge home-road splits, strikes out a ton, and isn’t better defensively than Williamson.
He’s still owed 32m after this year’s as well.
In a very, very small sample size McMahon has hit .048 with 6 strikeouts and 2 walks in 23 career plate appearances at T-Mobile Park
I like this more than Suarez. Mostly because the M’s need a left handed bat in the middle of the lineup.
As a replacement for Dylan Moore, I’d be cool with this
Mariners would NEVER trade for this guy even if they offered to PAY HALF the contract 🙄 hitting under .200 away from Colorado and theyre trying to break in Williamson. This is all a distraction from any thing the Mariners would do. It’ll either be a Rental or someone making 5Million or less that can play other position besides 3rd base also… Waste of an Article
Everyone complaining about his OPS doesn’t realize he’s going the other way ALOT… teams are pitching away, he also had 43Doubles last year and for Someone with what 14games in AAA he’s doing Superb. Geno had 4HRs in what 266 ABs and hit .240 his Rookie Year… what about Caminero? Shoot even look at the 3rd baseman Brewers are breaking in hitting in the 8th spot… if he hits .250 w/ .300 OBP hitting in the 8th or 9th Hole before the Top of the Order that’s a success… he’ll hunt the Fastvall and look to PULL more as he see’s pitchers for the 3rd time… I like the the Kid and he’s YOUNG
Mariners need a 1st baseman ASAP… Raley up there flailing away and has 7 K’s in his last 8 ABs…on pitches bouncing to the Plate… he looks like DMo room mate!!! 😳 hopefully we’re on the Phones working for 1st baseman and a Bullpen ARM like Yesterday… going to be going to the Anaheim Series as I live in the area and Kids want to see WOO in Person… Go M’s