Mariners Rumors: Seattle Close to Trading Away Brandon League, Looking to Add Bats

The Seattle Mariners are close to trading away closer Brandon League, according to a report from ESPN's Jerry Crasnik.

The #Mariners are close to trading reliever Brandon League, say baseball sources. Location yet undetermined.

— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 29, 2012

There hasn't been a concrete confirmation of who might be acquiring League, but Henry Shuman of the San Francisco Chronicle has heard rumors that the Giants are the team close to landing the 29-year-old.

There is some scuttlebutt in high circles that the Giants ARE the team getting Brandon League. But to reiterate, I do not have that directly

— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) July 29, 2012

Dave Cameron of FanGraphs tweeted earlier today that the M's were trying to acquire Giants' first baseman Brandon Belt. John Morosi of FOXSports.com also reported today that Seattle is searching for an impact bat to help them in the future, naming the Minnesota Twins' Josh Willingham and St. Louis Cardinals Allen Craig as two players in particular the team is focusing its efforts on.

League lost the closer role to Tom Wilhelmsen earlier this season. The right-hander is 0-5 with a 3.05 ERA and 1.44 WHIP. In 2011, League notched 37 saves and had an impressive 4.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The Mariners are 46-57, 14 games behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West and 10 games back in the Wild Card. Seattle has the least runs scored in the AL this year, and have finished dead last in the AL in runs each of the past three seasons.

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Should the Mariners consider trading one of their promising pitching prospects to improve their offense for 2013?

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