The Seattle Mariners’ stated goal is to bring back as much of the band as possible.

Already having secured a reunion with first baseman Josh Naylor, the Mariners still have two veteran members of the infield from their playoff run this past season looming in free agency. Second baseman Jorge Polanco appears to be at least a slightly higher priority than third baseman Eugenio Suárez for Seattle.

It’s still quite possible the Mariners would welcome back Suárez at the right price, but if another team made him their top priority, the odds of Seattle bringing him back would seem to plummet.

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Will Pirates nab Suárez this winter?

On Sunday, insider Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tabbed the Pittsburgh Pirates as the best fit for Suárez on the current market, noting that nearly everyone in the industry now expects the Pirates to step up and spend some money after countless years of fielding a bottom-10 payroll.

“All signs point to the Pirates spending some money in free agency this winter, and given their need for offense, adding a two-time All-Star who slugged 49 home runs last season would be an ideal place to start,” Feinsand wrote. “Suárez’s defense at third base is below average, but Pittsburgh could give him some at-bats at DH, as well.”

The Pirates don’t have any scary bats at the moment, so even for the flaws in Suárez’s game (his on-base abilities and strikeouts come to mind on top of the aforementioned defense), the fact that he has the upside to hit well over 40 home runs would make him something of a savior in Pittsburgh.

Still, even if the Mariners aren’t usually the team to win a bidding war, if they ever shift their full attention to Suárez, it would register as a surprise for the Pirates to outbid them.

Ultimately, the whole thing could boil down to timing. If someone like Pittsburgh closes on Suárez while the Mariners have their full attention on Polanco, the odds of the two-time All-Star leaving are quite high.

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