How disappointing has the 2015 season been for the Seattle Mariners?  Think anticipation for the release of Star Wars Episode 1, The Phantom Menace.  Then think Jar Jar Binks.  Yes, that disappointing.

The Mariners currently sit with a 46-55 record, ten games behind the division leading Angels, and seven games behind the Twins for the second wild card.  Mathematically, the Mariners are still “in it.”  But by all reasonable measures, the season is over.

We all know what has proceeded to happen.  No one needs to recap what has taken place on the field by manager Lloyd McClendon’s boys of summer.  And, yes, there is blame to go all around, from Robinson Cano’s lackluster play both in the field and at the plate, to Fernando Rodney’s inability to record outs.  But despite the poor play by almost everyone not named Nelson Cruz, the wheels for what can only be described as ghastly baseball were put in motion by GM Jack Zduriencik during the offseason and shouldn’t be surprising.   

Once again, another lost season can primarily be traced back to one thing: Zduriencik’s inability to properly construct a major league roster highlighted by his failure to make contingency plans should, say, someone like Mike Zunino fails to improve upon his lackluster 2014 season or, worse yet, regresses even further.

And in the case of Zunino, when a viable catcher was acquired in the form of Welington Castillo (who could take over for the struggling Zunino) Zduriencik did the unthinkable by flipping Castillo to Arizona for Mark Trumbo, thereby doubling down on the type of player that was already plaguing the Mariners: a slow-footed power hitter, with high strike out and low on-base ratios, and whose best position is 1B/DH but would be logging the majority of innings in the outfield.

With the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline just two days away, the question lingers whether the Mariners should be sellers or buyers?  The Mariners have a few viable trade chips at their disposal should they choose to sell, namely Hisashi Iwakuma, JA Happ, and Austin Jackson.  They also have a handful of players that they could use to acquire immediate help this season and reload for next in the form of James Paxton, Taijuan Walker, Ketel Marte, D.J. Peterson, and Alex Jackson.

With the season virtually over, selling off assets would seem to make sense.  But with long-term deals given to Cruz, Cano, Seager and Hernandez in what has transformed into a “win now” game plan, there is an argument that acquiring players for a second half playoff push this season who can also be contributors for next season is the better move rather than acquiring B-level prospects who would not help in the foreseeable future.

Whichever road one believes is best to take, the bigger question to ask is whether Zduriencik can be trusted to execute a deal that would be to the Mariners benefit, whether for this season or for the future?  After seven years of botched trades, failing to develop a young core, and questionable free agent acquisitions, allowing Zduriencik another shot at “fixing” this team’s ailments very well could be the worst move of all.

Instead, a better move would be for the Mariners to stand pat, let the rest of the season play out, and then excuse Zduriencik from his GM duties at the conclusion of the season.  Then, to bring in someone with a high baseball pedigree to tweak this roster into a playoff contender.

After three lackluster prequels, even Disney was smart enough to remove George Lucas from the director’s chair and, instead, bring in the more capable and relevant JJ Abrams to lead the next cinematic installment of the Star Wars franchise.

After seven years of mostly disappointment, it’s well past time for the Mariners to do the same.