MLB Trade Rumors: Home Run Leader, Top Slugger Expected To Be Dealt During 2019 Season

The Seattle Mariners have been the biggest surprise in the early part of the 2019 MLB season. The team leads all of baseball with a 10-2 record, despite having traded some of their best players in the offseason to start what was supposed to be a lengthy rebuild.

Seattle might be playing better than anyone over the first two weeks, but it doesn't sound like the Mariners are ready to deviate from their plans. Ken Rosenthal said on MLB Network's “MLB Central” Tuesday morning that he still expects Jay Bruce and Edwin Encarnacion to be among the players Seattle trades before the July 31 deadline.

Bruce and Encarnacion have been big parts of the team's early success. They are also veterans that won't be around when Seattle is expected to contend in a few years.

Bruce is tied for the American League lead with six home runs. He’s third in the AL with 11 RBI.

Encarnacion made history Tuesday when he hit two home runs in the same inning for the second time in his career. He is hitting .324/.465/.676. The veteran has four home runs and has been among the sport's most consistent power hitters over the last decade.

Encarnacion hit 32 home runs in 137 games for the Cleveland Indians last season. It marked his seventh straight year with more than 30 homers. He's totaled at least 107 RBI in four straight years.

The power provided by Bruce, Encarnacion and others has made Seattle the most prolific home run hitting team in the first 12 games of any season. Seattle has set an MLB record with 32 homers in their first 12 games, and it's helped give them a sizable lead in the AL West.

The Mariners are 3.5 games ahead of the reigning division champion Houston Astros. Houston is still considered to be the heavy favorite in the AL West, and they rank among the World Series favorites.

Seattle's hot streak isn't expected to continue for much longer. The team dealt Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz and James Paxton among others in the winter as they look to build with young players and through the draft.

Because Encarnacion’s contract comes with a $20 million team option next season, he almost certainly won't return to Seattle in 2020 if he isn't traded by the deadline. Bruce has two years and $26 million left on his contract.