Mariners 'insist' trade deadline plans didn't involve All-Star starter despite rumors
· Yahoo Sports
Mariners 'insist' trade deadline plans didn't involve All-Star starter despite rumors originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Visit extonnews.click for more information.
The Seattle Mariners were one of the more fascinating teams at the 2026 MLB trade deadline for a few different reasons.
They dealt Luis Castillo to the Chicago White Sox and then acquired Taylor Ward from the Baltimore Orioles. But the far more interesting rumors were about the potential of Randy Arozarena, Emerson Hancock, and George Kirby to be traded away.
However, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the Mariners "insist" that they never intended to trade Kirby, their All-Star righty starter, but did listen to offers for Hancock.
Mariners 'insist' they didn't want to trade George Kirby
"The Seattle Mariners insist they were never interested in trading starter George Kirby, but did listen to offers for starter Emerson Hancock," Nightengale reports.
Leading up to the August 3 MLB trade deadline this season, the rumors about Kirby being available grew enough to the point where ESPN's Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel projected his odds of being traded to be 50%.
Those were some fairly high odds, higher than some of the players who actually did end up getting traded, like Jose Soriano of the AL West rival Los Angeles Angels.
But the Mariners, according to Nightengale, are insisting they never actually planned to trade Kirby this summer at the deadline. There was, however, a real chance that Hancock was dealt.
MORE: Tigers feared Tarik Skubal’s trade market would disappear if they waited too long to trade him
Kirby is 28 years old, a former All-Star, and under club control through the 2028 season. Hancock is 27 years old, hasn't been an All-Star before, and is under control through the 2030 MLB season.
Interestingly, the Mariners were seemingly more open to trading Hancock, someone who's younger and has more club control, than Kirby, who's a year older and is hitting free agency two years earlier than Hancock
Seattle didn't trade either starter, keeping both Kirby and Hancock on the roster as they try to earn a postseason spot this season in a wide-open AL.
The Mariners are insisting that, contrary to the rumors leading up to the deadline, they didn't intend to trade Kirby at all. Hancock was available, but he wasn't dealt either.
More MLB news:
- Phillies receive slightly worrying 65% playoff odds projection from ESPN
- Red Sox get 8.2% chance to win World Series, which is more than Yankees’ odds
- MLB experts voted Red Sox's Adley Rutschman trade as most surprising by wide margin
- Dave Dombrowski reveals why Phillies didn't trade for a righty-hitting outfielder
- Brewers ‘toyed’ with idea of trading for Padres closer Mason Miller