Seattle Mariners: It's Ttime For a Firesale

This is not how we wanted things to happen.

The Mariners are mired in a season-long slump, and there doesn't seem to be a way out of it. Our problem is that most of our tradable players don't have high trading stock. Each player's season is mirrored by our record and position in the west.

But, as we've seen time and time again, players that we trade away suddenly blossom into the players we hoped they would become (see Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe).

Here are some of the potentially tradable pieces of the Mariner's major-league roster:

Adrian Beltre

The Gold Glover is having a decent year, with 16 bombs and 47 RBI, but a relatively low batting average of .259. His contract is on the heavy side, but the M's might be willing to take a chunk of it on if the right deal comes along.

Raul Ibanez

Ibanez is in the final year of his contract, and he could be a strong pickup as a DH or left fielder. He's having a strong year offensively, with 11 homers, and he's leading the M's with 55 RBI. He also has a decent average of .273. He could definitely help a team like the Mets for the playoff stretch.

Kenji Johjima

This may just be in the best interest of the Mariners, who have prospect Jeff Clement at the major-league level and getting the bulk of the catching duties. Johjima's contract is too big for him to be a bench player, and even though he is underachieving offensively, a team with deep pockets like the Red Sox may take a chance on him and hope he heats up.

Erik Bedard

Seattle fans are going to call for Bavasi's head if Bedard is traded for anything less than what the M's paid for him in the offseason, but the fact of the matter is that he is under performing, and if the team goes into rebuilding mode, he would be an attractive trade piece.

Rumor has it that he has problems with the management, and suddenly he said he can't throw over 100 pitches per outing, which makes him a good candidate to be traded to a contender that is craving pitching, possibly the Cardinals or Phillies.

Jarrod Washburn

Don't be scared off by his ERA or W-L record, Washburn seems to be coming into his own as of late. He's strung together six quality outings in his last seven starts, the other start he went eight innings, giving up four runs.

He's in the last year of his contract, so a team might want to grab hold of the lefty and hope his streak continues.

Arthur Rhodes

Though he has not been mentioned in trade rumors, the veteran lefty has been solid for the M's this year, though not getting many opportunities with Sean Green leading the majors in appearances for a relievers.

Rhodes has a cheap contract, and might be a good alternative to the more publicized lefty relievers such as Brian Fuentes and Damaso Marte. Look for teams who lose out on either reliever to possibly turn to Rhodes.

If the Mariners go all out and decide to blow up their roster, look for only Felix Hernandez, and possibly Brandon Morrow, to stay