MLB Trade Rumors: Why Ichiro is Invaluable to the Seattle Mariners

There had been A LOT of trade speculation for the Seattle Mariners that started around mid May when the Mariners were over .500 and had just beaten the Yankees in a series at home. Many thought that the Mariners were for real and seemed just one offensive juggernaut away from winning the AL West for the first time since their 116-win season in 2001. At one point there were rumors Seattle would be buyers in the market for a Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran or Prince Fielder.

Flash-forward to July 25. The M's have just lost their 16th straight game, the second longest streak in the majors since 1994. They have not won a baseball game in three weeks and are last place in the AL West. No more buyers, no more Reyes or Beltran or Fielder.

It is clear that the Mariners will be sellers at the MLB trade deadline, as they rightly should. There has now been a lot more trade speculation on which Mariner should be shipped out of town. Names like Bedard, Hernández, Wright and League have all been hot right now. These players all could get mild to prime talent for the Mariners farm teams or even starters today.

The player who should not be traded: Ichiro Suzuki.

Yes, I know that he is under-producing and yes I know that he is set to make $34 million over the next two years. But Ichiro is vital to the Mariners team and organization.

For starters, Ichiro is the best hitter on the Mariners not named Dustin Ackley. Ichiro is batting .268, and while that may be 59 points lower than his average, it still is the second best batting average on the Mariners. He has over 25 more hits than the next Mariner and still can pull off his 11th straight 200 hit season (he is just a few hits off of that pace now).

One striking stat that got to me is that Ichiro has produced 50 runs of his own and batted in 26 more runs, meaning he has been a part of 23 percent of all the runs that the Mariners have scored this year. I'm sorry but I just don't see any other Mariner being able to produce in ways like that, especially not Carlos Peguero, Michael Saunders or Greg Halman (his likely replacements if he is traded).

Defensively, Ichiro may have lost a step or too (speed is one of the first things to go with age), but he certainly has not lost his cannon arm that he can throw down runners with (strength is one of the last things to go). Even with his lost step, Ichiro still is as athletic and acrobatic of an outfielder as they come, making the difficult plays look average and exciting the crowds every once in a while.

Which leads me to my next and most important point: the value of Ichiro to the franchise. Even if Ichiro is not worth his money as a player, he certainly is worth his money as a member of the Mariners organization. Ichiro is without a doubt the most popular Mariner on the team (sorry Felix you need more tenure) and has a history with the team that rivals almost any other Mariner.

An accredited, Seattle-specializing, fan-run website called Seatown Sports recently put out a list of the most popular Seattle athletes. It is plain and simple that Ichiro brings in fans like no other Mariner can. There are more Ichiro jerseys and related items around the city of Seattle than any other Mariner.

To be blunt, Seattle simply cannot afford to lose one of the only "star athletes" that they have. This loss would be devastating to the fan-base and would alienate many of the devoted fans who have watched Ichiro all the way through his MLB career. A 16-game losing streak is NOT the time to alienate more fans.

Finally, for Ichiro's sake, he should stay in Seattle. Nowhere else will he be loved like he is in Seattle and nowhere else will he be able to have an impact on a city like the "star athlete-less" city of Seattle.

His career as a Mariner has been remarkable and his relationship with Yamauchi, the Mariners' Japanese owner, is renowned as well. He would not like to see Ichiro leave and would not want to disrespect Ichiro (in Japan it can be deemed very rude to shop and trade a player).

As enticing as it is to blame Ichiro for the Mariners' struggles whenever he strikes out or pops up, remember that he is a part of 23 percent of the Mariners' runs and has produced for the franchise more than any other player over the last decade. He may be aging and diminishing but he is still one of the best on our team and is invaluable to our city.