Seattle Mariners: Sign or Decline — Cameron Maybin

After Dee Gordon returned to second base following Robinson Canó’s suspension, a hole opened in center field that remained unattended to for some time. Guillermo Heredia was average at best when filling in until the Mariners finally struck a deal at the deadline for Cameron Maybin, and it… didn’t work out.

Now Maybin is a free agent and the Mariners are left empty-handed, disposing of Bryson Brigman for two months of a .242/.289/.319 slash line. There’s no way around it — Maybin was bad. It was expected as well. Despite having a hot July which made him a rather hot target league-wide, Maybin hadn’t done much else for the rest of 2018.

What was unexpected was how poorly Maybin played in the outfield. Maybin arrived in Seattle with an above-average UZR, then finished the season at a -2.9 clip in center field. It was shocking, to say the least. While Maybin has been a mediocre hitter for most of his career, the one constant in his game was his glove and that has kept him on contending Major League rosters for quite some time. Instead, we consistently saw him take godawful routes on flyballs, failing to cover ground in the way someone of his athletic prowess should.

Maybin ultimately became a liability not only at the plate, but in the field, and the Mariners started playing Mitch Haniger in center more often than not towards the end of the year. Haniger could potentially make the switch to center field full-time in 2019, depending on what the Mariners do with their corner outfield positions. Gordon may also return to the position, relinquishing second base duties back to Canó if the former isn’t traded sometime this offseason. The Mariners may also be active in the free agent market for center fielders, potentially targeting A.J. Pollock or Adam Jones.

I’m sure you see where I’m going with this. The Mariners have quite a few options at center field now and aren’t nearly as desperate as they were around the trade deadline. Maybin did nothing to earn himself a new contract from Seattle, and I highly doubt the thought of re-signing him has crossed their minds. They’ll cut their losses, admitting to the failure that was Maybin’s trade, one that earned a re-grade of an ‘F’ from me some time ago. Oh well.

Sign or Decline? Decliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine.

Prediction: No contract offered, Maybin finds a new home with one of the bottom-tier teams of the MLB.