Daniel Carbonell Has Five Teams In Mind, Mariners Are One

Recently defected Cuban outfielder Daniel Carbonell has a list of five finalists for his services according to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. The New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners are among those five.

Carbonell hasn’t generated as much hype as similar Cuban-born talents such as Yasiel Puig or Jose Abreu, but is still considered to be a four-tool talent (lacking power) that could have a significant impact on a big league roster.

The Mariners seem to be a great fit for Carbonell though the M’s don’t have a long history of acquiring and developing Cuban players. Most notably, Yuniesky Betancourt and now Roenis Elias.

But why not Seattle? Because of the payroll restrictions that they seem to have and then don’t have, off and on? It’s unclear what kind of salary is expected to land Carbonell, but he lacks the power numbers of Abreu and Puig, but hits for average and is considered to be faster than Puig.

I would love to see the Mariners sign him, give him some at bats in Tacoma to get him up to speed and have him in Seattle by the All-Star break. But who would he replace?

Is it possible that the Mariners would put Dustin Ackley as the DH if Corey Hart is out for an extended period? Or perhaps Michael Saunders? Look at this potential lineup.

1- James Jones CF
2- Stefen Romero RF
3- Robinson Cano 2B
4- Justin Smoak 1B
5- Daniel Carbonell LF
6- Nick Franklin SS
7- Kyle Seager 3B
8- Dustin Ackley DH
9- Mike Zunino C

And that’s just one example. You could put Saunders in for Romero or Ackley. And yes, I put Franklin in for Brad Miller because I think that’s where we are headed. When this team gets rolling the way we have seen them able to, I dare you to find the out in that lineup.

So stay tuned Mariners fans. Exciting changes could be coming our way.