THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Is there some relief in sight for the M's at the deadline

The goal is to win the World Series.

When you have a team that can do it, anything short is going to be a disappointment.

Oh, I know, Mariners fans will tell you that simply MAKING it to the Series would be spectacular, since Seattle remains the only team that has never reached that goal.

When you’ve been blanked since birth (1977), despite winning an MLB record 116 games in 2001, well, that’s a long time without a drink of water.

Still, if the 2025 Mariners are good enough to knock on the door of the Fall Classic, the whole idea is to win the damn thing.

That subject comes up today because there are now two days until the trade deadline slams shut on your fingers.

If Jerry Dipoto and the M’s ownership are going to take a serious shot, now’s the time.

OK.

This is where I explain that adding a particular piece or two by Thursday in order to make the playoffs is one thing.

Rearranging the active roster for a run at winning the World Series is something else altogether.

Truly, they’re different tasks.

LET ME give you a perfect example.

Eugenio Suarez.

A reunion with the popular third baseman has seemed like a terrific idea.

Geno has been on fire all year, he’d lengthen the Mariners lineup and give them a better chance to make the playoffs.

With three or four teams on the phone to Arizona, however, this is REALLY a seller’s market.

Suarez will be very, very expensive.

And he’s a two-month rental.

I would argue that if the Mariners are going to spend that kind of eye-watering capital, it should be on someone who could dramatically improve a World Series roster.

The Series (and the postseason leading up to it) presents you with a unique challenge.

Games play out differently.

Starters throw everything but the kitchen sink, and get congrats if they go five innings.

Six is spectacular.

At that point, it’s a bullpen game, and winning the Series requires five (maybe six) shut-down relievers.

With all due respect to hard workers like Casey Legumina and Trent Thornton, they shouldn’t be pitching in a close, meaningful game.

And virtually every Series game is close.

Seattle has three true stoppers — Andres Munoz, Matt Brash and Gabe Speier — along with three “maybe” playoff arms in Eduard Bazardo, Jackson Kowar and Carlos Vargas.

To win in the last week of the regular season, and then on through the postseason to the Series, the Mariners need at least two more elite relievers.

I suggest they wrap up that package intended to land Suarez and see if some version of it can interest Minnesota and/or Pittsburgh.

EACH OF those teams can offer two ace-level bullpen arms.

The Twins supposedly want multiple high-level prospects, but they might unload 27-year-old Jhoan Duran (and his nuclear fastball), along with Griffin Jax, 30.

Both are elite at the level you’d need for a World Series, and as a bonus, each has two seasons of club control beyond this year.

The Pirates’ pair look different, but they’re still effective.

Closer David Bednar is being shopped openly, despite being reliable (2.19 ERA, 34.5 percent strikeout rate).

Set-up man Dennis Santana, who wields one of the game’s best sliders, could also be pried out of Pittsburgh for the right combination of prospects.

Bednar and Santana each would come with one extra year of club control.

The Mariners could wind up shopping for back-end pitching at an unlikely spot: Colorado.  The Rockies generally have been unwilling to move their younger players, but that policy may be changing a bit this summer.

Seattle's scouts have spent time looking at Jake Bird, who is in decent demand, but also a couple of second-tier relievers have caught the eye -- pitchers that the Mariners feel they can perhaps improve, and all of whom have multiple years of control beyond 2025.

Watch for the names of Juan Mejia and Seth Halvorsen.

The 25-year-old Halvorsen averages a tick above 100 mph with his four-seam fastball, but his command has been, well, spotty.

In other words, fodder for the Mariners' magic pitching gurus if they can make a trade.

Trust me, the Mariners need TWO more reliable bullpen stoppers to win in the postseason.

Then the World Series.

Using a lot of prospect capital on Suarez (however much we love his good vibes) would essentially be buying some home runs that turn 7-1 wins into 9-1 wins.

Down the stretch and into the playoffs, the Mariners need to unleash a string of near-unhittable relievers — thus allowing the starters to let it loose for five or so lights-out innings.

If it’s any consolation, Suarez isn’t needed at third base, where rookie Ben Williamson is in contention for a Gold Glove.

Williamson almost beat the A’s by himself on Monday, turning in three unbelievable plays that saved a string of runs in a 3-1 win — plus scoring after a double of his own.

Sure, I’d like to have Geno AND a couple of shut-down relievers — but let’s not give away our souls here.

Let’s get those arms and snap the World Series drought, eh?

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On."