Don't worry, it might be a bad dream

At first glance, some Seattle Seahawk fans might have believed that they were having a nightmare.

Russell Wilson getting traded.

Yeah, that’s not going to happen from his day job anytime soon.

IT WASN’T that long ago that Wilson, who just finished his fifth season as Seattle Seahawks quarterback, was chasing his other dream of playing baseball, eventually landing with the Tri-City Dust Devils in the Northwest League.

Wilson, still under contract with the Texas Rangers, was dealt to the New York Yankees on Wednesday for future considerations.

Hopefully those future considerations don’t involve Wilson leaving his current home in Seattle for the New York Jets.

Wilson, long before the Super Bowl win and the bummer against New England, was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2010, playing 32 games for Tri-City. That season, Wilson had 11 runs batted in and two home runs, but hit just two home runs and finished with a .230 batting average.

He played again in 2011 before opting to pursue a career in the NFL and was later picked up by Texas, who invited Wilson to camp in 2014 and 2015.

Fortunately for northwest football fans, it was just for a few days here and there, and he’s still fully focused on football.

NOT THAT Wilson is starving to put on the pinstripes and stick it to the Seattle Mariners, but you can’t help but wonder if that could be in the near future.

Wilson has taken a lot of hits from an offensive line that hasn’t been able to block for him in recent years.

The rest of his teammates aren’t getting any younger, with a couple of key pieces considering retirement and others planning for the future, should the team opt to rebuild the roster and cut salary.

Playing in the infield for the New York Yankees might be a lot less stressful than trying to keep the Seahawks in the playoff mix. And with the Yankees’ lineup, including Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, all he’d have to do is just play good defense, and the rest will take care of itself.

It could be interesting to see if Wilson eventually progressed through the Yankees system and played against the Mariners at Safeco Field.

Could the Mariner fans, who’ve hated the Yankees, actually boo their hometown idol if he’s playing in a different uniform?

Maybe it might be more like when Ichiro Suzuki returned to a standing ovation with New York. Then again, he was with the Mariners one day and Yankees the next — in the same series — in Seattle.

One thing Mariner fans shouldn’t have to worry about is Wilson costing them in the playoffs.

As long as he’s a Seahawk, he’ll be pretty occupied in October.

Unless he isn’t.

Then, that’s what causes nightmares.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.