The Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners have linked up for nearly as many trades as years Mike Hazen has been the general manager in the desert.
The D-backs and Mariners agreed to two trades at this year’s deadline, as Arizona sent Seattle corner infielders Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez in separate deals for a hoard of prospects, headlined by first baseman Tyler Locklear.
A projected lineup for the Mariners includes three players traded from Arizona to Seattle in three different trades with outfielder Dominic Canzone being the third.
“We call the Mariners, we float ideas, they usually say yes and vice versa,” Hazen said after the Naylor trade. “We seem to line up a lot of times on when we ask for things and go back and forth. It happens very quickly. I don’t know what that is, if it’s more sort of personalities matching up in the front office versus other things. I’m not sure. But yes, we have lined up on a lot of deals.”
Ketel Marte becomes a Diamondback
That history starts with the first trade of Hazen’s tenure and one that continues to pay the most dividends.
On Nov. 23, 2016, the day before Thanksgiving, the Diamondbacks acquired future three-time All-Star (and counting) Ketel Marte and starting pitcher Taijuan Walker for Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger and Zac Curtis.
Segura had just set the D-backs’ single-season record with 203 hits.
Walker was considered at the time the prize addition as a young, controllable arm entering his age 24 season. Marte just turned 23 and was coming off his first full season.
“In Ketel, we believe we have acquired a talented, switch-hitting shortstop to join a very solid core of young middle infielders,” Hazen said at the time.
It was a blazing way to start a tenure as general manager for Hazen, as Marte has become one of the greatest players in franchise history. In terms of WAR (Baseball Reference), Marte and Walker accrued 34.7 so far, while the trio in Seattle earned 22.3. Haniger and Segura each made the All-Star Game one time for the Mariners.
Point, Diamondbacks.
Mike Leake returns to Arizona
Then there was somewhat of a hiatus — excluding Seattle purchasing Kristopher Negron in 2018 — before the two sides came together at the 2019 deadline.
Seattle traded former Sun Devil pitcher Mike Leake to Arizona for infielder Jose Caballero. The D-backs toed the line between a buy and sell, getting off the Zack Greinke contract in a separate deal while bringing in a veteran starter to eat innings. Leake made 10 starts with a fine 4.35 ERA down the stretch of that year, and the D-backs played well in August and September but came up short of the playoffs with 85 wins.
Caballero played 104 games for Seattle before getting flipped ton Tampa Bay for Luke Raley, who remains with the club and has a .759 OPS and 26 home runs in 186 games played for the Mariners.
Point, Mariners.
Kyle Lewis trade underwhelms
In 2022, the Mariners pulled Stuart Fairchild from Arizona (for three games), and during the following offseason, they traded 2020 Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis for catcher/outfielder Cooper Hummel. Lewis and Hummel played a combined 26 games for their respective teams before being let go, as a Lewis home run during Opening Week at Dodger Stadium was his lone memorable moment in the uniform.
That’s a wash.
Pauuuuuuul Seeeeeeewaaaaaaald
The biggest deal between the two sides since the Marte trade occurred at the 2023 trade deadline.
Arizona desperately needed a closer as it fought for postseason positioning and got one, adding Paul Sewald to the back end of the bullpen. The Mariners brought in three players: utility man Josh Rojas, Canzone and infield prospect Ryan Bliss.
Sewald was a key cog in Arizona’s run to the World Series with a stellar postseason until Game 1 of the Fall Classic. His production fell off dramatically starting in July 2024, as he lost the closer role and was not retained the following offseason. Overall, Sewald saved 35 games for the D-backs, including the postseason.
Rojas played 188 games in Seattle and provided value as a versatile defender. He hit .272 in 2023 but saw his offensive numbers fall in 2024. He finished his tenure there with 3.0 WAR. Canzone has split time between the majors and minors since the trade, but he’s played very well in 42 MLB games so far this season (.811 OPS), hitting a 450-foot home run against the D-backs at that.
Bliss is on the 60-day injured list with torn biceps, but he’s still only 25 years old.
Diamondbacks earn a win here (I mean, they won the pennant), but the Mariners probably do, too.
Eugenio Suarez 1
That brings us to the Suarez trade, part one.
Seattle cut payroll by shipping fan favorite Suarez to Arizona after the 2023 season. Suarez was coming off a down year by his standards and struggled mightily over his first three months in Arizona, facing the possibly of being designated for assignment. His turnaround was dramatic, as he has been one of the premier power hitters in MLB since July of last year.
The D-backs gave up catcher Seby Zavala and reliever Carlos Vargas for Suarez. Zavala hardly played before being let go, while Vargas has been a contributor in the bullpen this year with 50 innings and a 3.78 ERA.
“One of my least favorite trades I ever did,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto told reporters on Thursday. “If we could’ve called and asked for a re-do after winter meetings, would’ve done it.”
Point, Diamondbacks.
Trade deadline 2025
That brings us to these recent deals, where the D-backs have acquired Locklear and pitchers Hunter Cranton, Brandyn Garcia, Juan Burgos and Ashston Izzi, who were all considered top 20 prospects in the Mariners’ well-regarded farm system by MLB Pipeline, but none of them higher than ninth. The D-backs have pivoted off their all-in on 2025 path with an eye on building up their young talent pool for upcoming seasons.
The Mariners are going all in on competing for their first World Series, as they entered Thursday five games back of the AL West lead and tied for the third AL Wild Card spot with Texas. They have produced a top 12 scoring offense spearheaded by All-Star catcher and potential MVP candidate Cal Raleigh, and adding Naylor and Suarez creates one of the most powerful lineups on paper in all of baseball.
