Although he has earned a reputation as a trade-happy general manager, the Mariners’ Jerry Dipoto hasn’t swung many significant deals yet this offseason. He could add to his list of trades soon, however, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link) reports that multiple clubs are showing interest in Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager.
Seager has an undesirable clause in his contract that could scuttle a deal, as his $15MM club option for 2022 will turn into a player option if he’s traded. However, Seager may be open to amending that, per Rosenthal, who suggests that he’d rather play for a winner than a rebuilding team (Seattle) and could give up his option rights if an acquiring team’s willing to hand him more money upfront. Alternatively, the Mariners could just include cash in the deal and/or attach a good prospect in an effort to offset the player option, Rosenthal notes.
As of now, Seager’s due a guaranteed $37MM over the next two seasons. That would’ve looked like a wholly unappealing sum 12 months ago, at which point the typically productive Seager was coming off the worst year of his career. But Seager put himself back on the map with a 2.9-fWAR 2019 in which he batted .239/.321/.468 (110 wRC+) and swatted 23 home runs in 443 plate appearances. Now, with teams such as the Nationals, Braves, Twins and Rangers among those seeking third basemen, they could turn to Seager if they don’t sign Josh Donaldson or find a way to pry Kris Bryant from the Cubs.
