Since facing each other in the playoffs in 2022, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners have been long-standing foes. Yet they trade with one another quite frequently, which feeds into their inevitable frenemy dynamic.

The Mariners and Blue Jays opened the trade floodgates when Toronto traded outfielder Teoscar Hernández for Erik Swanson and Adam Macko four years ago. Their most recent trade dates back to 2024, when the Blue Jays sent Yimi García and Justin Turner to Seattle in a down year.

This season, the former ALCS rivals struggled to jump out early to differentiate themselves as viable contenders in the wide-open American League. However, the Mariners are only two games away from securing the last Wild Card spot, turning them into buyers at this trade deadline.

Much like the 2024 season, the Blue Jays can consider trading some players to the Mariners, who aspire to return to the playoffs. But the reality of a trade scenario between these two teams is much more complicated and potentially incompatible.

Despite their rivalry, the Blue Jays and the Mariners needed each other as trade partners in the past because they had compelling players to offer.

As it stands, those needs don’t seem to align this year, mainly because the Blue Jays can’t provide someone valuable to the Mariners. Seattle’s biggest need is a right-handed bat who can boost the team’s power profile. Toronto also lacks a strong right-handed bat and is grappling with a similar issue.

The best right-handed hitter the Blue Jays can offer at the deadline would be George Springer, who has been an excellent hitter throughout his career. Should Toronto trade Springer to Seattle, it would certainly go down as one of the more infamous trades, given his heroics in Game 7 of the ALCS last year.

However, his prolonged struggles and concerns about his aging curve will stop many teams, including the Mariners, from making the call. Seattle likely won’t risk a veteran bat again since its experiment with Justin Turner in 2024 wasn’t successful.

The Mariners already have a surplus of pitchers this season, which they are leveraging as trade chips to acquire good batters. On this front, the Blue Jays and the Mariners won’t match up well because Seattle’s pitching is among the strongest in the league.

Even if the Mariners were hypothetically looking to round out their pitching depth, the Blue Jays aren’t the most attractive trade partner because of their weaker farm system and the lack of standout relievers outside of Louis Varland. Tyler Rogers and Jeff Hoffman can be options, but their profiles won’t necessarily be what the Mariners would go for, based on the potential risks they each carry.

The Blue Jays and the Mariners have starkly different needs at this trade deadline, and they won’t be able to help each other this time around. They will be better off looking in another direction entirely.