Sources around the MLB scene have heard rumblings about the Seattle Mariners, despite being seven and a half games back out of their division, fortifying their lineup.

Detroit News' reporter Lynn Henning has an idea how they could fill that need, and it involves Alex Avila.

The Tigers also have needs, starting pitching to fill out the rotation, bullpen pitching to recover from designating two pitchers for assignment, a bat to replace the injured Cabrera. It seems like they have more needs than surpluses right now.

One of those surpluses though, is catcher depth. James McCann has shown himself to be a capable starter in the big leagues while Alex Avila was on the DL, and Bryan Holaday is a serviceable player currently working down in Toledo.

Avila could be the odd man on the way out by the trade deadline.

Despite Avila's mediocre at best numbers this year (.195, 3 HR, 10 RBI in 30 games) he would be an improvement to Seattle's current catching tandem of Mike Zunino and Jesus Sucre says Henning.

"Zunino is batting .160 in 81 games, with a basement-hugging OPS of .515. His backup, Sucre, is 1-for-26 in 13 games for the Mariners."

Defensively speaking Avila is 5/17 (29%) in caught stealing stats this year. Zunino is 18/45 (40%), Sucre is 3/5 (60%), but you need to hit the ball to win games.

Seattle can offer solutions to the Tigers iffy starting pitching rotation as they have a pair of impending free agents in J.A. Happ, a left-hander, or Hisashi Iwakuma, a right-hander. Henning also reports that the Mariners have a AAA option in Tacoma named Roenis Elias who could be serviceable in a four or five spot in the rotation.

There's still a little over two weeks until the trade deadline on July 31 and a day before the MLB season wakes up again from it's all-star break. The Tigers open up with the Orioles on Friday to start the second half of their season.

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