Mariners May Have Sights on Alex Rios

Well it’s Sunday and that Mariners haven’t made a move on an outfielder yet.

With winter meetings upon us and the Mariners linked to players such as Melky Cabrera and Matt Kemp, there is another interesting name out there as well, Alex Rios.

Rios is a free agent who has spent one and a half seasons in Texas and prior to that was with the White Sox and Blue Jays.

Rios would be the oldest of the three as he is currently 33 and will be 34 at the start of the 2015 season.

Rios has had an interesting career. He’s been relatively durable in terms of games played although last year he played in just 131 games.

Rios reminds me a bit of what the Mariners were hoping Michael Saunders would be like. An outfielder with a bit of pop in the bat and speed on the bases. The difference between the two obviously being Rios is right handed (and older).

Power numbers were down for Rios in 2014 as he hit just 4 home runs and drove in just 54, but again he played in only 131 games. That being said, Rios still managed to swipe 17 bases. In fact Rios has never stolen less than 11 bases in a season in his 11-year career.

So counting on Rios to steal bases could be a positive, adding to James Jones, Austin Jackson and Robinson Cano who all had double digit steals in 2014.

More from Mariners Rumors

• How the Mariners could swing a trade for Fernando Tatis Jr
• What it would take for the Mariners to trade for Randy Arozarena
• Mariners News: Everything from Day One of the Winter Meetings
• Is Xander Bogaerts Still An Option For The Seattle Mariners?
• How the Mariners could complete a 3 team trade for Bryan Reynolds

Rios has a decent career average line: .278 avg, 17 HR, 78 RBI, 25 SB, .323 OBP, .439 SLG, .762 OPS.

Rios is a positive option for the Mariners as they wouldn’t lose Taijuan Walker in the process of acquiring him.

Other than 2014 the pop has been there for Rios and he could make a solid addition behind Seager in the perhaps the six spot in the lineup.

Rios would be relatively inexpensive off the market as well, probably less than Cabrera would be.

Rios would be a good fit at Safeco Field as the outfield is big and he can cover some ground. With Jackson in center and Dustin Ackley in left, the outfield would be quite speedy.

I would not be surprised to see the Mariners make this signing of Rios. Lower risk than that of Matt Kemp and you get to hang onto Walker.

The longer this goes, I believe the more likely it is Rios may be a Mariner.

With the Dodgers lingering on if they are going to deal Kemp or not, the longer it goes the less likely it is to happen.

Melky will probably be the next outfielder, if not player, to come off the market. As multiple teams have shown interest.

While Rios is the more quite player available, he could sneak his way into the Mariner discussions as the week goes on.

All of this being said, it is likely you will see one of these three players in a Mariner uniform in 2015.

Let us know who you’d prefer and why!