Should the Pirates Consider Trading Starling Marte to the Mariners?

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Yesterday, the twittersphere almost broke with news that the Seattle Mariners were going after Starling Marte.  Yes that Starling Marte.  And then, Marte was not in the lineup only minutes later.  It reminded me of that scene with the Joker in the Dark Knight.  If Josh Harrison isn't in the lineup nobody cares because it's part of the plan.  But if Starling Marte isn't in the lineup, then everyone just loses their minds!  John Perrotto was the initial man to break the news in an article for the Beaver County times but the story was picked up by Bob Dutton in Seattle.  I'll caution you all that teams "check in" on players often just to get a feel of what is available.  It happens every year.  I'm sure team's still call about Cutch but those just never hit the rumor mill.  So with that in mind, let's examine this rumor.

Report says #Mariners are showing interest in Pirates outfielder Starling Marte. http://t.co/EZbNQuPMOl
— Bob Dutton (@TNT_Mariners) July 22, 2014

The Pirates have their "dream outfield" with Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen and Gregory Polanco.  But they also have prospects in the outfield that could be just as good on the way, namely Josh Bell.  So that has led some to wonder if one of them could be traded in the future.  But I don't think anyone thought this soon.  Anyway, let's look at how much of a trade chip Marte could be.  He was just signed to a 5 year $31 million extension with two options.  So he has a pretty team friendly contract.  He's a plus defender, has plus speed and possibly the best arm in the game.  He can bat anywhere in the order.  He has a ton of value to a team like the Mariners who have zero quality outfielders.  They are desperate for an outfielder.  And desperate teams, make stupid trades.

Here is the proposed, possible return for Marte.  It starts with Taijuan Walker.  Walker is one of the top ten prospects in baseball and is one hell of a pitcher.  He is 21 and has already had time in the big leagues.  He is only going to get better with a plus fastball and cutter.  He's also got a good chance to develop a plus change up.  He has the same potential as a Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow.  Only difference is he's major league ready now and would be under control for several years.

The next piece would be one of Nick Franklin and Chris Taylor.  Both are shortstops and Franklin has seen time in the big leagues albeit disappointing.  Both guys are good defenders at the position and both have put up really good hitting numbers in Triple A.  Both are major league ready and could fill a void at SS in the long term for the Pirates.

The last piece would have to be either another prospect of a good reliever.  I would take the prospect and specifically Jesus Montero.  He's a switch hitting first baseman and a former top prospect when with the Yankees.  He's crushing the ball in Triple A, especially against lefties, and the Mariners seem to have given up on him.  He could replace Gaby Sanchez in a platoon or he could start hitting righties and become a full time first baseman with the Bucs.

Looking at that return, it is a lot to digest.  That is three current/former top 100 prospects, one of which was in the top 5.  That would be a huge boost to the long term success of the team.  But it may hurt the short term.  None of those guys is going to fill the void left in left field.  Josh Harrison can try but he probably won't succeed.  Taijuan Walker may fix the rotation in the short term if he can provide a Gerrit Cole like impact.  Taylor/Franklin could be a much better bench option than Clint Barmes/Michael Martinez.  And Jesus Montero could be a huge boost if he regains that top prospect form and keeps destroying baseballs in the majors.

With all this in mind, if that was the trade that was on the table from the Mariners, I would take it.  Starling Marte is a great player but you're getting three key players who are major league ready in return.  That is not something that happens very often if not ever.  With the Cubs having tons of hitting help coming soon the Pirates could combat with a rotation of Cole, Walker, Taillon, Glasnow, Kingham.  That's FOUR aces on one team.  That pitching staff would be unhittable in the years to come.  Add the offense Cutch, Polanco and Josh Bell would provide and this team would be right up their with the Cubs year after year.

This is a trade that would hurt the Pirates' playoff chances in the future but it would give a humungous boost to the team's World Series chances for the next 5-7 years.  And that is something I would want to see.  I think this is all moot because there is probably a 0.00000000000000001% chance Marte gets traded but it is sure fun to think about and fun to discuss.