Astros' division rival made a huge, but risky trade to try keep pace with Houston

The Seattle Mariners got the trade deadline ball rolling on Thursday night after dealing for Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena. The former AL Rookie of the Year and Rays' playoff star is now heading to the Pacific Northwest to join the Mariners' sputtering lineup.

This is the first of perhaps several attempts that the Mariners will make in order to upgrade their putrid offense. Seattle held a 10-game advantage over the Houston Astros not that long ago, but are now locked in a tight battle for AL West supremacy with a little over two months left in the 2024 season.

Arozarena will move the needle a little, but it's going to take more than that to dethrone the reigning AL West champs. This does, however, raise the bar when it comes to how Houston will handle the upcoming trade deadline that's only days away.

Did the Mariners do enough to keep pace with the Astros with Randy Arozarena trade?

The Mariners did not have to give up too much in order to secure Arozarena's services for the next two-plus seasons. While the former All-Star is having a down year overall, Arozarena has been on fire of late. On the year, Arozarena is hitting .211/.318/.394, but since June 1st has a .284/.397/.507 slash line with seven home runs and 18 RBI.

Arozarena will likely push Luke Raley to a bench role, and Seattle's outfield will now feature the former Rays' slugger alongside Mitch Haniger and Julio Rodriguez when he returns from the injured list. And while that's a much more formidable lineup, the Mariners will need to add more than Arozarena to offset their 28th-ranked team OPS (.660). And over the past month, that number has been even worse, with Seattle hitting just .203/.292/.335 as a team.

Don't worry, Astros fans, this isn't going to propel the Mariners anywhere. Now, if Seattle adds another bat like Jazz Chisholm, Jonathan India, Luis Rengifo, or Nico Hoerner, then the Houston faithful might need to be bit more aware of their AL West rival down the stretch.

If there's one thing Astros fans can take solace in with this latest trade, it's that the Rays are sellers. With that in mind, players like Zach Eflin and Isaac Paredes should be on the Astros' radar at the MLB trade deadline.

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