Nobody in Seattle has wanted to admit it since the season got off to a slow start, but the Seattle Mariners are out of the playoff race. That has become painfully obvious now that the team has slipped to 42-50 on the season, just a half game up on last place in the American League West. This sad realization will likely cause the team to sell this trade deadline.

One of the most attractive trade pieces the Mariners have is starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, who is not getting mentioned in trade rumors as much as he should be. The righty went 29-15 over the past two seasons before struggling in 2015. He has made just six starts, but should be healthy for the stretch run.

For teams looking to add a pitcher in the middle of the rotation rather than at the top of the rotation, Iwakuma makes a lot of sense. Since he hasn’t pitched a ton this season, he can be had for the price of two mid-level prospects in all likelihood. That’s a fair price to pay for someone who will provide legitimate starting pitching depth.

Iwakuma is joined on the market of middle-of-the-rotation starters by guys like Scott Kazmir, Mike Leake and Mat Latos. He is likely to be cheaper than any of those players and he also has a higher ceiling than any of them. That should make a team willing to deal for him in the next couple weeks.

Seattle needs to get something out of a lost season and trading Iwakuma is a start. He will be a free agent after the season and it’s not a slam dunk that the team will re-sign him. They should ship him off and acquire a couple prospects who have a chance of playing a part in Seattle’s future.

Nobody in Seattle wants to admit it, but it’s time to sell. That starts with the best available pitcher that nobody is talking about this trade deadline: Hisashi Iwakuma.