Mariners to trade Nick Franklin to the A's?

In this Mariners rumors and news update, the AL West-leading Oakland Athletics are targeting Seattle Mariners middle infielder Nick Franklin before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. However, it's up to the Mariners to decide whether or not they are willing to facilitate a trade with the team they're chasing in the standings.

Per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, "Nick Franklin, pushed out of a big-league job when the Mariners signed Robinson Cano, is a top target, but the question will be whether Seattle - currently in a playoff spot - would want to strengthen a division rival, and whether the A's, fresh off trading top prospects Addison Russell and Billy McKinney, would have enough in the cupboard to land him."

After losing his job to Cano, Franklin has appeared in just 17 games for the Mariners this season, hitting just .128 with two RBIs in 47 total at-bats.

However, Franklin is just 24 years old and has enough value from a growth perspective to warrant a decent amount of attention on the trade market. This could perhaps give the Mariners options outside of the division to pawn Franklin off to rather than bolstering the ranks of the MLB-best Oakland A's.

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