Great teams are built on great lineups, and the Seattle Mariners might be just one or two pieces short of that threshold.

Now that first baseman Josh Naylor is back in the fold, the Mariners have a good amount of power and speed when factoring in catcher Cal Raleigh and center fielder Julio Rodriguez. The final component to take them over the top could be a pure contact bat.

One baseball writer believes there’s a perfect trade candidate out there for the Mariners this winter, and it’s admittedly difficult to argue with the logic in play.

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Should Mariners try for Steven Kwan trade?

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle proposed the idea of the Mariners acquiring Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan, who has won Gold Gloves in each of his four seasons in the majors and made the American League All-Star team in the last two.

“I love this idea so much. Kwan would return to the West Coast, about a four-hour drive from Corvallis, where he starred for Oregon State,” wrote Doolittle. “He would give the Mariners a needed upgrade at a corner outfield spot, teaming with Julio Rodriguez to improve Seattle’s outfield defense.

“Most importantly, he could slide into the leadoff spot, offering contact and OBP as a poor man’s Ichiro, hitting in front of Cal Raleigh, Rodriguez and his old Cleveland teammate, Josh Naylor. Let’s get this done.”

Loving this idea is entirely justified. If there was one thing the Mariners struggled to find this year, it was a reliable leadoff hitter. Having Kwan set the tone in front of the big boppers could greatly increase the pressure on opposing pitchers.

Kwan also wasn’t happy with his season on offense, as he slumped in the second half and wound up with just a .705 OPS/96 OPS+. Give him a trade to a new team, with two years left before free agency, and his motivation could be through the roof.

But, of course, the devil is in the details, and Doolittle doesn’t guess here what it might take to pry Kwan loose from the Guardians. We know at least one team came relatively close at the July deadline, but Seattle might have to part ways with multiple prospects it currently has high hopes for.

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