Mariners News and Notes: Outfield
Mariners News and Notes: Outfield
Mitch Haniger? Cody Bellinger? Andrew Benintendi? Who could fill out the Mariners outfield going into next season?
The outfield is a fascinating place to dream of a potential Mariners acquisition, mostly because of the sheer volume of options available on the market. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times published an article Monday night with some exciting info and opportunities for the Mariners, and we have talked about many of them on Sea Level.
If you haven’t checked out Ryan’s article I would highly recommend you do so. His insights can be extremely valuable as we try to piece together what the offseason will look like for the Mariners.
While the Mariners have Julio Rodríguez and Teoscar Hernández on the roster already they need to add at least one more guy to the mix this offseason. Divish details the ways the Mariners can fill this void. He notes that Dipoto and the front office have confidence in players like Taylor Trammell, Jarred Kelenic and Cade Marlowe to fill a role. While this isn’t ideal, the Mariners believe in the talent of all three and believe one of them could step up.
Seattle also has Jesse Winker and Divish details that the Mariners would prefer to keep most of his at-bats at designated hitter next season. Rolling with an in-house option is likely not Seattle’s first choice, a player of more proven impact from outside the organization would likely fit much better.
Bringing back Mitch Haniger is still something that could be in the cards, although his market has appeared more robust than many may have initially thought. Many other west coast foes are said to be interested in Haniger including the Dodgers, Angels, Rangers, and others. Haniger and his representation have stayed involved with the Mariners and appear to still be interested in a reunion.
There are many free agent outfielders that are listed but it is unclear to what degree the Mariners would be interested in them. Earlier this offseason they were linked to Brandon Nimmo, which would make sense as a fit for Seattle. Andrew Benintendi also makes sense as a left-handed contact hitter.
If Seattle is interested in another one-year option to pair with Hernández, former MVP Cody Bellinger is on the market at just 27 years old. He will likely be looking to reestablish his value on a one year deal and Seattle could be interested.
Divish goes on to say that some baseball insiders believe if they can’t land Haniger Seattle will go toward the trade route. This Mariners front office loves to make deals, and they have been successful in doing so.
A few of the names that are listed are names I have mentioned before, Ian Happ and Bryan Reynolds. Happ is a player that the Mariners tried to deal for at the trade deadline but the cost was higher than the club was willing to go. He is a great defender and also put up a 120 WRC+ in 2022.
Reynolds is described as a player that Dipoto’s staff have “long coveted.” He could move to a corner spot which would highly improve both his defense and his health moving forward.
If Haniger doesn’t return watch out for a deal with the Pirates or Cubs to acquire one of these players.
While nothing seems close right now it is clear the Mariners clearly have many targets this offseason. Their goal is to make this lineup better in a big way and many of the names we just listed do exactly that.