The Boston Red Sox traded Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, opening up a spot in the starting rotation. The Seattle Mariners need offense. Could the two sides pair together for an intriguing deal?

The Boston Red Sox traded starting pitcher Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, opening up a spot in their starting rotation – a rotation that was already thin and desperate for help.

The Seattle Mariners, after an offseason or purging salary, badly need offensive upgrades.

So, could the two dance and become trade partners considering they each have what the other wants? Let’s examine some facts before we go too crazy.

1) The Red Sox finished last in the American League East last season. They already had massive questions in their starting rotation, and with Sale gone, they have more. They do have bodies down there (Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford), but each comes with questions. They need certainty and/or upside down there.

2) The Red Sox don’t appear willing anymore to go the extra mile to sign big free agents. Yes, they gave Trevor Story $140 million before the 2022 season, but that appears to be a “we think we got good value” kind of play rather than an all-out spending binge. So, they don’t seem to want to pay what it will take to get Blake Snell or Jordon Montgomery. So, given how expensive starting pitching is to acquire, perhaps the Red Sox would rather make a trade for it.

3) The Seattle Mariners have it – a lot of it – and cheaply. Logan Gilbert and George Kirby are both on rookie contracts. Kirby hasn’t even started the arbitration process yet. Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller both got significant experience in 2023 and have a full six years of team control. Any of those arms would be interesting to the Red Sox, who appear to be stockpiling for the future.

4) The M’s need offense badly. The offense already wasn’t good enough and that was before they let Teoscar Hernandez go in free agency, and traded Eugenio Suarez and Jared Kelenic away. The Red Sox have young offensive pieces that would be of interest including outfielders Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela. They also have close-to-major league ready prospects Marcelo Mayer and Nick Yorke in the middle infield.

5) So, do the two sides line up for a deal? Not for me. The Red Sox appear to be building for the future, so acquiring Woo or Miller makes a lot of sense for them, but Seattle is conceivably playing for now, so the Red Sox’ minor league pieces don’t hold as much value.

If Boston were to make Tristan Casas available, that would change the calculus of everything, but it doesn’t seem likely.