{"id":133903,"date":"2025-06-27T03:30:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T03:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/133903\/"},"modified":"2025-06-27T03:30:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T03:30:11","slug":"mariners-looking-for-corner-infield-bats-ownership-willing-to-bump-payroll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/133903\/","title":{"rendered":"Mariners Looking For Corner Infield Bats; Ownership Willing To Bump Payroll"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Mariners are currently 41-38 and in possession of the final American League Wild Card spot, putting them in position to add at the deadline. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com<\/a> reports that the club is looking to add an impact bat at a corner infield spot, though he adds that they could also just get the best bat available and worry about the positioning later. An extra leverage arm for the bullpen is another reported target. Kramer also reports that \u201cownership will green light increased spending\u201d at this year\u2019s deadline.<\/p>\n

The note about the payroll is quite relevant. Throughout the offseason, reporting indicated that the club had about $15MM of spending capacity for upgrading the roster. The M\u2019s then spent a combined $11.25MM on signing Jorge Polanco<\/a> and Donovan Solano<\/a>. In early May, they claimed Leody Taveras<\/a> off waivers from the Rangers, taking on the roughly $3.7MM he had left to be paid out on this year\u2019s salary. The M\u2019s later outrighted Taveras to Triple-A.<\/p>\n

Given that the M\u2019s had seemingly spent their budget, it would have been fair to wonder about their ability to make deadline additions. While it\u2019s unclear exactly how much increased spending ownership is willing to approve, any extra pocket money should help the front office pursue external additions.<\/p>\n

As for the specific targets, they are not surprising, as the M\u2019s have question marks at both infield corners. Ben Williamson<\/a> has received the lion\u2019s share of playing time at third base this year and has been solid with the glove, but has hit just .255\/.291\/.311 for a 77 wRC+. At first base, Rowdy Tellez<\/a> was the regular there before his subpar bat got him bumped off the roster. He was designated for assignment last week and put on release waivers today.<\/p>\n

Solano is now getting most of the playing time at first. He\u2019s not having a great season overall but has been heating up after a dreadful start. He was hitting .131\/.156\/.148 through May 17th but has a massive .420\/.463\/.640 line since then. That latter line is a small sample of just 54 plate appearances and inflated by an unsustainable .474 batting average on balls in play but there\u2019s no harm in riding the hot hand in the short term. He also slashed .294\/.353\/.413 for a 112 wRC+ from 2019 to 2024, so he has a track record of strong offense.<\/p>\n

Considering that he\u2019s 37 years old and slumped early in the year, it\u2019s understandable that the M\u2019s may not want to be totally reliant on him. A lot of his damage has also come against lefties in recent years, so they could consider a platoon, though he has reverse splits in this year\u2019s small sample of work.<\/p>\n

As for specific targets, Kramer relays that the Mariners have considered a reunion with old friend Eugenio Su\u00e1rez<\/a>, currently of the Diamondbacks. Su\u00e1rez played for Seattle in 2022 and 2023, hitting a bunch of home runs but also striking out a lot. The M\u2019s made a concerted effort to reimagine their offense with fewer punchouts and traded him to Arizona ahead of the 2024 season.<\/p>\n

With the Snakes, Su\u00e1rez got out to a rough start but has been one of the best hitters in baseball for about the past year. He had a .216\/.302\/.366 line and 87 wRC+ in the first half of 2024 but then exploded for a .307\/.341\/.602 showing and 153 wRC+ in the second half. Here in 2025, he already has 25 home runs, a .251\/.323\/.569 line and a 141 wRC+. He\u2019s also been striking out less in the process. He struck out more than 30% of the time as a Mariner but dropped that rate to 27.5% last year and is down to 25.7% so far this year.<\/p>\n

His defense isn\u2019t as strong as Williamson\u2019s but he would obviously provide a huge boost to the lineup from the third base spot. Su\u00e1rez is making a notable salary of $15MM this year, which would leave about $5MM left to be paid out as of the deadline. As mentioned, it\u2019s unknown how much wiggle room the M\u2019s will have to take on money.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible the Diamondbacks would be willing to eat some of the money but it\u2019s also not entirely clear if they want to make Su\u00e1rez available at all. Despite a rash of injuries, they are currently 41-39 and just three games out of a playoff spot in the National League. If they fall back in the next few weeks, the possibility of a Su\u00e1rez trade should increase.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also an argument for Arizona to trade Su\u00e1rez even in a win-now move. They have lost several arms to injury and could flip him for help on the pitching staff, with Jordan Lawlar<\/a> then taking over at third. However, there is risk in that path. Lawlar is a top prospect and keeps hitting in the minors but hasn\u2019t yet taken advantage of his major league chances.<\/p>\n

Kramer also mentions Arizona first baseman Josh Naylor<\/a>, noting that he had been linked<\/a> to the M\u2019s prior to being traded from Cleveland to Arizona in the offseason. Naylor, like Su\u00e1rez, is an impending free agent. He is making $10.9MM this year while slashing .307\/.363\/.479 for a 132 wRC+.<\/p>\n

Kramer also mentions some other players as possible fits, including Jarren Duran<\/a> of the Red Sox as well as Ryan O\u2019Hearn<\/a>, Cedric Mullins<\/a> and F\u00e9lix Bautista<\/a> of the Orioles, though those appear to be more speculative suggestions. He also throws out Isiah Kiner-Falefa<\/a> of the Pirates and Jes\u00fas S\u00e1nchez<\/a> of the Marlins as other possibilities.<\/p>\n

Duran and Mullins are outfielders but, as mentioned, the Mariners might just grab the best bat they can and figure out the defense later. Luke Raley<\/a> is currently spending most of his time in the outfield corners but could perhaps spend more time at first base if the M\u2019s added an outfielder.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Hearn and Mullins are both impending free agents on a struggling Baltimore club, so they seem likely to be moved. O\u2019Hearn is having a terrific year, with a .301\/.384\/.485 line and 149 wRC+. His $8MM salary is not nothing but it\u2019s barely half of what Su\u00e1rez is making. Mullins was hot to start the year but has gone cold lately. He had a .278\/.412\/.515 line and 168 wRC+ at the end of April but has since put up a line of .167\/.201\/.348 for a wRC+ of 50. He is making $8.725MM this year.<\/p>\n

Duran is still controllable for three years after this one but the Sox have a crowded long-term outfield mix that also includes Wilyer Abreu<\/a>, Ceddanne Rafaela<\/a>, Roman Anthony<\/a>, Masataka Yoshida<\/a> and Jhostynxon Garcia<\/a>. Perhaps the Sox would consider making Duran available as a way to preemptively clear out that logjam while simultaneously adding talent somewhere else. They are currently 40-42 and 2.5 games back of a Wild Card spot.<\/p>\n

As for the bullpen, all contenders generally look for upgrades at the deadline. Bautista should be highly attractive if the O\u2019s are willing to make him available but it\u2019s unclear if they would. Unlike Mullins and O\u2019Hearn, he can be retained for two more seasons beyond this one. But given the general volatility of relievers, Baltimore might think about cashing him in during a down year for the club overall.<\/p>\n

After missing the 2024 due to Tommy John surgery recovery, Bautista\u2019s control has been a problem, with a 15% walk rate. But he\u2019s still been effective overall, with a 2.60 earned run average and 33.6% strikeout rate. It\u2019s possible he is reining in his command as the season goes along as he has dropped that walk rate to 9.4% in June.<\/p>\n

Kiner-Falefa is a glove-first utility guy, hitting .273\/.319\/.346 this year for the Bucs, which translates to a wRC+ of 85. He is making $7.5MM this season but the Blue Jays are on the hook for part of that as part of the trade that sent him to Pittsburgh at last year\u2019s deadline. S\u00e1nchez has generally been a league average hitter for the Marlins. He is in his sixth big league season and has a .240\/.309\/.425 line and 99 wRC+. He is making $4.5MM this year and can be controlled for two more seasons via arbitration.<\/p>\n

There are many possibilities for Seattle, which should make for a very interesting deadline. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has a reputation as being one of the most trade-happy executives in the sport and the Mariners have one of the best farm systems. Reportedly, they wanted to deal prospects for big leaguers during the offseason but found few clubs willing to make that kind of pact since so many teams came into the year hoping to contend. As the season goes along and some clubs fall back in the standings, they might be more willing to take some of those prospects off the Mariners\u2019 hands.<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of Joe Nicholson, Imagn Images.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Mariners are currently 41-38 and in possession of the final American League Wild Card spot, putting them…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2392],"tags":[5,77,92,584,2057,604,4942,94,620,4,626,619,65,3235],"class_list":{"0":"post-133903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-seattle-mariners","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-cedric-mullins","10":"tag-eugenio-suarez","11":"tag-felix-bautista","12":"tag-isiah-kiner-falefa","13":"tag-jarren-duran","14":"tag-jesus-sanchez","15":"tag-josh-naylor","16":"tag-mariners","17":"tag-mlb","18":"tag-ryan-ohearn","19":"tag-seattle","20":"tag-seattle-mariners","21":"tag-seattlemariners"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114753216508690902","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}