It actually goes further than that...the Mariners are showing loyalty to a ton of fringe pitching prospects and they ARE giving their fringey hitters chances here and there, as any team should. Peguero, Wilson, Carp...they're fringey prospects...they might have value...and they're going to get their shots...whether or not we trade for another bat (because, chances are, some of them will be in trades for a bat and the rest can be role players or plug other holes). Our bullpen has journeymen in crucial roles, our totation is filled with long-shot prospects growing into a wonderful synergy of excellence, our line-up has Smoak and soon Ackley and Gutierrez and Ichiro is as long-timerish as you'll ever see in Seattle...and then you've got the high probability that at least two of the Peguero/Wilson/Carp group will get significant PT here whether or not we make a trade. This *IS* a home grown ballclub...a success story (if they play over .500 and at least show they're a competitive force in coming seasons) built on prospecting and player development...not on free agent acquisitions. So...I fail to see how all of that is affected if we trade some surplus for production we can use today.