After beating the Toronto Blue Jays 11-0 on Saturday, the Seattle Mariners enter play on Sunday at 46-44 and a 0.5 games up in the American League West.

The M's have just seven games left before the All-Star break and then they'll start a second-half push with the hopes of repeating as the division champions. 

Whether here, or on the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast, we've said that the Mariners likely won't be very active at the upcoming trade deadline. They could stand to upgrade their bullpen and their bench, and we've explored the idea of them acquiring outfielder Taylor Ward from the Baltimore Orioles, but the bottom line is this: The Mariners don't necessarily need a lot at the trade deadline. What they need is for their current group of players to play better.

And that's a sentiment that the rest of baseball seems to believe as well, with Bob Nightengale of USA Today writing this on Sunday:

The Seattle Mariners aren’t expected to be ultra-aggressive at the trade deadline as in the past, hoping simply that Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, Josh Naylor and Randy Arozarena dramatically improve after their first-half struggles, with their overall defense ranking last in outs above average (negative-25).

Arozarena was named an All-Star on Sunday, so we can quibble with the notion that he's had a disappointing first half, but there is truth to the other three players. Raleigh is hitting under .170 with just nine home runs, and Rodriguez has cooled significantly after a red-hot May. Naylor has provided little in the power department, and yes, the team's defense is generally poor in most spots.

And while fans certainly don't love to hear it, the best course of action for the M's is probably to hope those players re-emerge as stars, and then to couple things with a hopeful return of Brendan Donovan. While not quite as certain, the M's are also expecting Carlos Vargas and Matt Brash back from injury in August.

Regardless of their returns, the team should look for bullpen help, but the position player side feels mostly set outside of a bench player or two, probably from the right side.

The trade deadline is Aug. 3.

The Mariners will look for a series win over the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon (2 p.m. ET), but it won't come easy. Emerson Hancock will be on the mound for Seattle while rookie Trey Yesavage will pitch for Toronto.

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