The Mariners are as soon as once more seeking to improve their offense this winter after 2024’s underwhelming outcomes on the plate squandered a terrific season from their pitching workers. Unsurprisingly, common supervisor Justin Hollander tells Jon Morosi of MLB.com that the M’s view second base as a precedence this offseason. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic provides that the M’s would additionally like so as to add at first base. Ideally, Seattle would add one bat to assist out at second or third base — with Josh Rojas and Dylan Moore a possible platoon on the different spot — and one other at first base. Hollander downplayed the concept of including to the outfield, telling FanSided’s Robert Murray that between Randy Arozarena in left, Julio Rodriguez in heart, Victor Robles in proper and Luke Raley as a nook outfield/first base/DH possibility, the Mariners really feel they’ve potential for a “fairly high-end outfield.”
With the offseason simply days previous, there are after all just about limitless choices to discover by way of free company and commerce. Morosi studies that Seattle is among the many groups to have evaluated Hyeseong Kim, the star second baseman of the Korea Baseball Group’s Kiwoom Heroes. Kim, 25, is scheduled to be posted for MLB golf equipment to bid on this winter. Rosenthal lists a reunion with Justin Turner as one thing Seattle might pursue. He cautions in opposition to the chance of the Mariners spending to the degrees crucial so as to add longtime division rival Alex Bregman or (to a lesser extent) first baseman Christian Walker.
Kim, 26 in January, hit .326/.383/.458 with 11 residence runs, 30 steals, an 8.3% stroll fee and only a 10.9% strikeout fee for the Heroes this previous season. He’s been a plus hitter three straight seasons within the KBO however is extra of a contact-, speed- and defense-oriented participant, as he’s not thought-about to have a lot residence run pop. This previous season’s 11 round-trippers had been a career-high. Turner, after all, completed out the 2024 season in Seattle after coming over from the Blue Jays in a commerce. He batted .264/.363/.403 in 190 plate appearances as a Mariner. His total .259/.354/.383 slash is a methods from peak ranges, and Turner will flip 40 later this month. That mentioned, he was nonetheless a productive large league hitter this previous season.
The Mariners’ anticipated deal with infield bats — and their flexibility to take a look at a number of positions — was specified by our Mariners Offseason Outlook. As famous in that piece just a few weeks again, Kim and Gleyber Torres are two notably fascinating choices at second base, and each are more likely to be comparatively inexpensive. Former Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim might technically be a match at second or third base, however he’s more likely to miss the start of the season following his latest shoulder surgical procedure and derives a superb little bit of his worth from his plus glovework. He’d be a less-than-ideal match if the purpose is to bolster the offense from day one.
In the meantime, signing Bregman or Willy Adames (maybe with eye towards shifting him to 3rd base) would symbolize a serious philosophical departure from the Mariners’ previous mode of operation. The M’s have solely given out one multi-year deal to a free agent place participant below president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto — that being final winter’s two-year, $24MM pact to Mitch Garver. Rosenthal means that signing a $100MM+ deal might be outdoors the staff’s finances, however even past that, it’s merely not how Dipoto has traditionally operated.
The commerce market might current varied options. The Rays will doubtless hearken to presents on Yandy Diaz, making him one speculative match at first base. He’d align nicely with Seattle’s want to scale back their MLB-worst strikeout fee and is slated to earn $10MM subsequent yr with a $12MM membership possibility for 2026. Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe, owed $10.5MM with an $11.5MM membership possibility for 2026, is one other on-paper match. He wouldn’t cut back the staff’s strikeout fee, however he’s a possible influence bat with a number of years of membership management. Cleveland might hearken to presents on slugging first baseman Josh Naylor.
Nonetheless issues play out, the M’s will probably be seeking to as soon as once more redraw an offense that has struggled to make contact at one of the crucial evident charges within the league. Along with tying the Rockies with an MLB-high 26.8% strikeout fee, Mariners hitters had the league’s third-lowest total contact fee (74%) and had been tied for MLB’s second-worst contact fee on swings at pitches throughout the strike zone (82.9%). The Seattle lineup really chased pitches off the plate on the fourth-lowest fee in MLB … however their contact fee on these swings was nonetheless the third-worst.