The Mariners blew away expectations and ended up one game
short of the playoffs in 2014. Now they
have locked up their Gold Glove third baseman long-term and signed the Major
League home run leader to hold down their cleanup spot. With many of their key pieces in place, a lot
of questions have been swirling about what the next move for the Mariners front
office should be. They landed Nelson
Cruz without giving up a starter (as they would if they traded for Cespedes,
Kemp, or Upton), which addressed the most glaring need this offseason. We may see another big splash from Jack Z,
especially with the Winter Meetings taking place next week, but there are a few
value moves that I think would be good fits for Seattle.
Mark Trumbo
After being the main piece of one of the marquee deals last
winter, Trumbo missed a large portion of the season with a foot injury. His future in Arizona is questionable, mostly
due to his sub-par defense in the outfield.
Trumbo projected to start at a corner outfield position, but his
defensive ability is much higher at first base.
Obviously, he’s not going to play much at first for the D’backs because
Paul Goldschmidt is a perennial MVP candidate.
With the addition of Yasmany Tomas, Arizona has five other outfielders
that are very capable to be starters (Tomas, Pollack, Peralta, Ross, Inciarte)
and all of them are stronger defenders that Trumbo.
In Seattle, Trumbo would be a good platoon candidate at
first base with Logan Morrison and could also DH with Nelson Cruz in right
field. He fits the mold of the
right-handed power bat that the Mariners have been looking for. The trade situation is also a good fit because
Seattle has a wealth of good, young relievers and Arizona is in need of bullpen
help. Trumbo is the most expensive on
this list, but still for good value. He
is in his first arbitration year after making $4.8 million last season.
Emilio Bonifacio
Obviously, Bonifacio is not a power bat as I mentioned the
Mariners have been looking for. However,
the switch-hitter is strong against left-handed pitching and would be a good
addition to the team that was last in the AL in OPS vs lefties (.636) in
2014. Between the Cubs and Braves,
Bonifacio posted a .365/.411/.548 slash line and hit all three of his home runs
against southpaws. He would also bring a
speed element that the Mariners only possess with James Jones and less so with
Austin Jackson. With those upsides,
Bonifacio is a free agent that has not made more than $2.6 million in a season.
Ryan Doumit
Doumit is also a switch hitter that is balanced throughout
his career against right- and left-handed pitchers. Despite lackluster defensive abilities at any
of his positions, he can play catcher, first base, and outfield, which are all
positions where the Mariners need more depth.
The former 2nd round pick is from Moses Lake, WA and would be
a good candidate to return to his home state on an incentive-laden contract or
potentially as a minor league non-roster invitee.
Gaby Sanchez
After being designated for assignment and then non-tendered
by the Pirates this week, Sanchez is now a free agent that was only under
contract for $2.3 million last year. A
career .291 hitter vs left-handers, he has served as a solid platoon partner
for Ike Davis, Justin Morneau, and Garrett Jones in his 2.5 years in
Pittsburgh. He would be a very capable
platoon candidate for Logan Morrison.
Franklin Gutierrez
I know that few Mariners fans will be excited by this
notion, but bringing Gutierrez back as a non-roster invitee would be a
low-risk, high-reward move. When
healthy, Seattle has seen the strong abilities, especially defensively, that
earned him the nickname “Death to Flying Things.” He took the last year off to focus on getting
healthy. I think it is well worth the
chance to let him show if the rest paid off and see if he can return to his
pre-illness form when he hit .335/.409/.555 against left-handers in 2009.
DJ Peterson
I know he is not a move that needs to be made, but Peterson
should be noted here because he could change the roster landscape depending on
his performance in Spring Training and in AAA this year. He is a right-handed power hitter, just like
the Mariners need, that can play first base and DH. Between High-A and AA last year, Peterson
combined for a .295 average, 31 home runs, and 111 runs batted in. As of today, Peterson is projected to reach
the big league club by mid-season, which would make the Mariners only need to
fill that roster spot for half of the season.
This gives the Seattle front office even more incentive to go after a
low-risk, high-reward move in case Peterson breaks out and forces his call-up
earlier than projected.
Already this offseason, the Mariners have shown a
willingness to pull the trigger on deals that fill important roster holes. Mariners fans who were not optimistic after
the one-game deficit to finish the season, have even more reason to hopefully
look to the future with Cano, Cruz, and Seager powering the lineup for the next
four seasons. Now the offseason comes
down to the little moves that pay off and give the Mariners the bump they need
to play in October in 2015.
