Mariners Lack of Haul in Edwin Encarnacion Trade Proves They Have No Clue How to Rebuild

On Saturday, the Seattle Mariners dealt their strongest bat in first baseman Edwin Encarnacion to the New York Yankees for RHP prospect Juan Then.

With Seattle sitting at the bottom of the AL West with a 30-44 record, it should be no surprise that they're selling some of their top players as the trade deadline approaches. But, fans and pundits alike have criticized this latest trade for a handful of reasons. Most notably, the Seattle faithful is upset because of what they got in return for the AL home run leader -- a 19-year-old, mid-level pitching prospect who's already been in their farm system and who likely won't contribute to the team for another year or so.

Source says word from Mariners ownership is: Trade anyone making $. Leake and Gordon likely 2 they’d most love to move next then (though they’d have to pay both way down to do so) https://t.co/uhwKf4ulna
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 16, 2019

The Mariners are in complete rebuild mode, with this trade just adding to the laundry list of transactions the ball club has made over the season.

The 36-year-old Encarnacion was a prime candidate to get dealt, as he's still owed over $15 million in salary and buyout, which the Yanks and Mariners intend to split. Selling old, overpaid players for younger, cheaper players while your team is struggling is the name of the game when it comes to rebuilding in the MLB. But, to think that all the Mariners got in return for one of the best home run specialists in the game was another pitching prospect who they've already dealt once before is laughable.

Timeline:
M's trade Segura and relievers to Philly for Crawford and Carlos Santana
M's trade Santana to Cleveland for Encarnacion and comp pick
Ms trade Encarnacion to Yankees for Juan Then

So the Mariners have netted Crawford, Then and Isaiah Campbell ... not sure on $$
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) June 16, 2019

Not to mention, Seattle had just acquired Encarnacion this past offseason, making this trade and their nosedive into a rebuild all the more curious.

It may take a few seasons for Seattle to be relevant again now that they've traded away nearly all of their valuable assets. If there's a bright side to any of this, at least Mariners fans can find some kind of peace in the fact that their team is starting the rebuild sooner rather than later.