THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Saturday, July 20, 2014

So you're saying there's a chance the Seattle Mariners will make the playoffs.

Maybe not with the roster they've got now, but if they become buyers before baseball's trade deadline on July 31, it's possible.

THE MARINERS' chances really come down to how they come out of the All-Star break, but really if they'll be active in trying to get players, or unload their own.

Start fast, they'll be trying to find that one missing piece to keep them in the American League West race.

Don't start fast, and teams like Toronto - which the Mariners will face seven times in the next two months - will leave them in the dust.

Before any team in baseball had started the second half of the season on Friday, it was rumored that the Mariners were in talks to acquire not only David Price from the Tampa Bay Rays, but also Ben Zobrist, who can play almost anywhere on the field.

If the Mariners are in this for the long haul, then they'll find a way to get that deal done, no matter if that means giving up some of those coveted prospects. The teams discussed this trade a few months ago, with neither side budging on their terms.

A few weeks ago, after the Oakland Athletics - who've been light years ahead of everyone else in the West all season - acquired pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, they showed the rest of the division that they weren't playing with them anymore.

Oakland, on the other hand, is all in for the World Series, and now has the rotation to back it up.

Adding Price to a rotation that includes Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma and Taijuan Walker - as soon as he's recalled from Triple-A Tacoma - could give the Mariners enough to make a run to the playoffs.

Maybe.

IT MIGHT take more than just Price to get to the postseason however.

In football, defense might win championships, but offense definitely helps in baseball.

I've already lost count on how many games that a Mariner starting pitcher has made a quality start, yet gets a no-decision because the team can't score enough runs.

A little more offense and, who knows, maybe the Mariners and Athletics are a little closer than that eight-game gap they had entering Friday night.

This isn't the Mariners of 1995, who could outscore you - same with the group in 2001.

As it appears now, this group has the talent to score some runs, but it hasn't been as consistent as it needs to be to prove itself as one of the teams bound for October.

Adding a few key pieces might be a good start.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter at JEPressSports.