Logan Gilbert shows worth ahead of deadline as Mariners beat Diamondbacks

PHOENIX – They travel in packs and dress similarly – stretchy golf pants, quarter zips, sometimes with their team logos, and sometimes a cap for sun protection. Though in the climate-controlled air of Chase Field, there isn’t a need for a hat.

They appear at major league and minor league parks throughout the season, carrying backpacks filled with notebooks attached to clipboards, laptops and radar guns. Like an endangered species, they are fewer in numbers than years past, particularly post-COVID.

But in the days leading up to the MLB trade deadline, professional scouts from most of the 30 teams are everywhere. With teams either looking to be buyers, sellers or both, the scouts use the precious few days to see potential trade targets in person for one last glimpse and report.

On Friday, a large group of professional scouts from opposing teams – most of them contenders – were in attendance to watch the Mariners pick up a 5-2 victory.

A similar number of scouts followed the Mariners during the previous three-game series in Minneapolis, with some teams sending a fresh set of eyes to Arizona to watch possible trade targets.

Most were there to see Logan Gilbert make his 21st start of the season. The lanky right-hander and former first-round pick may or may not be available in a trade – depending on who you ask. But if Jerry Dipoto, the Mariners president of baseball operations, is open to moving Gilbert, there would be plenty of contenders and some noncontenders looking to add a proven starter with four years of club control before he reaches free agency.

Why would the Mariners want to trade Gilbert? They don’t. He’s a player they drafted, developed and depend on,

But even with third straight win that pushed their record to 53-50, which is only the second time this team has been three games over .500 this season, the Mariners are a flawed team. They are lacking an offensive punch with no upper-level player prospects in their system who are ready to help this year, next year or possibly 2025.

So if a team were to overwhelm them an offer for young, controllable position-player talent, the Mariners would have to listen. Why not rookies Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo? Well, both have limited experience and workload issues that wouldn’t allow them to be immediate help to a contender.

Gilbert made 32 starts last year, pitching 185⅔ innings. He is poised to pitch close to 200 innings this season. He has power stuff that is still evolving.

Scouts watched as Gilbert improved to 9-5, holding the Diamondbacks scoreless over the first six innings while allowing seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Given a 4-0 lead before he threw a pitch, Gilbert relied heavily on his fastball and splitter – particularly to left-handed hitters.

He was removed from the game with one out in the seventh and Seattle leading 5-0, after allowing a single to Jose Herrera and a double to Geraldo Perdomo.

When Matt Brash uncorked a slider in the dirt that got past catcher Cal Raleigh, Herrera raced home for Arizona’s first run of the game. Raleigh’s throw to Brash, who was covering on the play was offline and got past him and rolled toward second base. It allowed Perdomo to race home with the second run, cutting Seattle’s lead to 5-2.

Both runs were charged to Gilbert.

Brash managed to limit the damage to just the two runs.

The Mariners jumped on D’Backs starter Tommy Henry literally from his first pitch of the game, which J.P. Crawford ripped into right field for a leadoff double. Julio Rodriguez followed with a single to left and stole second. After Eugenio Suarez struck out, Teoscar Hernandez was walked to load the bases.

They didn’t remain loaded for long.

Batting right-handed, Raleigh pulled a hard ground ball just inside the third base bag and down the left-field line for a double that scored two runs. Getting the start at designated hitter, fellow catcher Tom Murphy laced a double into the gap in left-center to score two more runs for a 4-0 lead.

Henry would settle in after the first-inning debacle. Turning to his slider, which the Mariners don’t like, he retired 17 of the next 19 batters he faced.

The Mariners picked up another run in the top of the seventh. Jose Caballero walked, stole second and scored on Eugenio Suarez’s soft single to center.